Mechanized Magus
by C.O.Y.L
Summary: Shirou didn't want to attend, he didn't want anything to do with the crazy machine of 'That' woman. But there was no avoiding it, he is being forced to go. And; whether he liked it or not, he was going to see it through to the end, for better or for worse. "IS Academy, here I come." AU from the Grail War.
1. Prologue: Here I Come

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**XxX**

"Yes." Her voice didn't waver, and his wouldn't too.

"No." He countered, staring into her eyes, he felt steel forming in his own.

Her face contorted into a deeper frown, before she spoke up once more. "Yes."

He felt his gaze waver for a split-second, before he steeled it once more. "No."

She sensed his wavering spirit, and pushed once more, she advanced slightly from her seat, leaning forward so she stared deeper into his eyes. Her words repeated, but this time, she was more confident. "Yes."

"N-no." He stuttered, unable to look into her eyes anymore. He was losing this, and damn it! He was going to lose badly.

She smirked, before she leaned forward, and stared at his face. Her smirk made him cringe, and he knew he had lost already. "Yes." She said with finality.

He sighed deeply, before he nodded his head grudgingly agreeing with her. "Yes."

She leaned back with a triumphant smile on her face. "Glad you see it my way Shirou." Rin praised with a smile as she hummed a happy tune. Shirou really couldn't help but sigh once more.

What was with her and this situation?

"That took longer than I thought it would." He heard a woman's voice sound from behind him, and he didn't need to think twice to figure out who it was.

"There is no longer or delaying with Shirou, Rider," Rin explained as she stretched and hummed a tune. "He always gives in, you just have to learn that when he says no, you just have to keep pushing until it turns to yes." Rin explained as she stared at Rider, who was behind Shirou and had quietly watched the entire 'argument' with an amused smile.

At least, that was what Shirou imagined her having.

"U-uhm," Another voice, this time, younger than the other one, and much more timid. Though the timid-ness wasn't because she was shy, but because she found the entire situation rather disconcerting. "Tohsaka-senpai, isn't it mean to Senpai to force him into this? He doesn't sound like he wants to be there." She tried to reason, and Shirou had to thank Sakura mentally. Even though it was a lost cause, and it was a weak argument.

"Pfft," Rin sputtered, holding back her disbelief at that sentence. "Why wouldn't he want to do this? He'll be surrounded by beautiful women twenty-four seven, three sixty five." Rin explained, before she froze with wide eyes. She then promptly smacked herself on the forehead.

'_Yeah, you and your big mouth Rin.'_ Shirou thought with a smirk as realization dawned on Rin's face.

"On second thought," Sakura's voice was several degrees colder now, and the room suddenly felt chillier than normal. "Senpai's opinion doesn't matter, because I won't allow him to be there in the first place."

Shirou rubbed the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache come. Really, leave it to Sakura to insult him and defend him in the same sentence. Rin and Sakura really are siblings.

"Look Sakura," Rin begun, trying to placate the angry girl. "This is great opportunity to learn about those cores, and don't forget about the one that made them. She's a revolutionary that combined technology with magic. Heck, she didn't just combine them and made an appliance, she practically built something that neither magic nor technology could do without the other! Think of the possibilities!" Rin reasoned as she looked at the Sakura. Shirou could just imagine the dastardly smile Sakura was giving Rin.

"Oh I can imagine just fine Tohsaka-senpai," Sakura began, and Shirou had to resist smirking as he saw Rin shiver. Have a taste of your own medicine. "I can imagine Senpai being surrounded by women in a bed, all of them giggling as they take his hyper weapon and begin to strok-"

"Sakura!" This time, it was Shirou who sputtered in indignation. He couldn't believe she almost said that! What is wrong with these women?!

Before any of the three could react however, Rider stopped them by sighing rather loudly. They all turned towards the purple haired beauty, before Rider spoke up. "It doesn't matter anyway," She began, her tone exasperated as she stared at all three of them. "Whether Shirou wants to or not, he'll be forced by the government to attend." She explained as she closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her abundant chest.

The gravity of the situation finally dawned on Shirou, before he slumped down and sat back down on the futon. Rider was right; there was no getting out of this. He would have to attend, whether he wanted to or not. For better or for worse.

He wasn't the only one that figured out there was no escape, as Sakura sighed in defeat and slumped on towards the floor herself. Her gaze never leaving the floor as she stared at it impassively, Shirou had to resist moving over towards her and comforting her. Mainly because now wasn't the time, and he needed to sort this out with Rin before anything else.

He turned around, and he was met not with the triumphant smile of Rin, but instead, he was met with scowling lips and worried eyes. She was staring at him as her eyes locked with his, and he couldn't resist sighing. Looks like she didn't really want that kind of situation herself.

"Having second thoughts Rin?" He goaded light-heartedly, and for a few seconds it worked, as Rin huffed and looked away with an annoyed expression on her face. But it didn't last long, as Rin once more adopted a serious look. "It's almost too perfect you know?" She asked, and everyone in the room knew it was rhetorical.

Nonetheless, Shirou answered with a nod of his head. "Nothing we can do about it." He said, surprising the occupants of the room. They all looked up at him, and they found that he had closed his eyes and had his arms crossed on his chest. "Even if I do refuse, 'Bunny-fu-fu' would just drag me into the Academy." Shirou spoke the truth, and everyone found that they couldn't refute that sentence. Of course, calling 'that' woman something as demeaning as 'Bunny-fu-fu' insults her brilliance and genius, but it was an appropriate nickname for her. Add to the fact that she seemed to actually encourage strange nicknames, and you have a Magus probably just a tad below Zelretch himself on the eccentric scale. And that was saying a lot.

Rider smirked as he said those words, her smirk widened even more as she heard the nickname. She stood up and made his way towards the red-haired magus. Shirou looked up to stare at her, before Rider placed a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever happens Shirou, you know we have your back." She spoke, and Shirou couldn't help but smile at her as he reached towards the hand she had on his shoulder.

"Thanks Rider, I know that. You don't have to remind me." He smiled softly at her, before he turned his gaze towards Rin, and then towards Sakura, before finally staring back at Rider. Shirou saw that they all had varying expressions hidden in their eyes, from disappointment coming from Sakura, to apprehension from Rin. Rider had the same look she always had when he was about to do something that could possibly be life-changing. He looked at each woman, before he nodded his head. His mind clear and his path in front of him, all he had to do now was take the first step.

"Don't worry guys," He began, garnering all three women's attention. Shirou could only smile at each of them, before he spoke the most comforting words he could think of. "I'll be back. I always come back." He spoke, and that was enough to comfort each woman.

'_Guess there's really no getting out of this.' _Shirou thought as he kept the smile on his face. And even though he really wanted to drop it, and just crawl into his room and sleep the day away, he knew that he was needed here most, and that he needed to be strong.

He suppressed a sigh, before he nodded his head. Steel entering his mind, and fire beating through his veins. _'IS Academy, here I come.'_

**Mechanized Magus**

**XxX**

**You guys have no idea just how excited I am writing this. And I know it's a short chapter, but it's a prologue. The next chapters will be the regular format of 5 to 12k words.**

**Anyway, I'm posting this short thing to add hype to it, and hopefully, it will.**

**Thoughts about it? Are you excited? Are you exasperated? Are you giddy with happiness?**

**Read and review people, tell me what you think, and wait for the next chapter.**

**And people, don't go asking questions yet. This is just the prologue, wait for the first 'official' chapter and then ask questions. But to answer some of my readers questions, no. I won't be giving up on my other fics. I just wanted to write this down before my head explodes spontaneously.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	2. First day, First Impressions

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**XxX**

"Quiet!" He heard the teacher shout from behind the door. Her shout was enough to make him cringe, and add to the fact that he heard a heavy thud echo right after the shout made Shirou swallow nervously. The only thoughts going through his head was_ 'Please don't be like Rin.'_ And those words repeated over and over again in his head.

"We're having a new student in our class today, so I expect proper respect being shown. I will not have anyone going out of place, do you understand me?" Shirou could feel sweat starting to form on his forehead, likely due to the fact that the teacher herself sounded like a drill sergeants. Or, it could also be due to the fact that his situation was abnormal to the extreme.

"I will not tolerate any shouting, screeching, and squealing when the new student enters." Shirou had to resist the urge to raise an eyebrow. Why would they do all that? It wasn't like he was the only man they knew… Wait. Didn't the handbook say the students would be boarding for the entire four year thing, and would only be allowed outside of the Academy on weekends and holidays?

Crap, he very well could be the only guy they would see. For a long time.

"-I make myself clear?" Shirou heard the teacher ask, and almost right after that, a resounding shout echoed back. "Hai Orimura-sensei!"

"Good," He could just imagine the stern face of the teacher nod her head. "Now, I'll introduce the new student. If you could kindly enter."

That was his signal to enter. But before he entered, he allowed himself one more nervous gulp, before he slid open the door and entered.

And not even two steps in, he was assaulted by the screams of women shouting the obvious.

"It's a man!" "A man?!" "Whoa! A dude!" "What's a man doing here?"

Strangely enough, the last sounded like they had just been slapped in the face. Add to the fact that the blonde, the woman that had shouted the words, was looking at him with something akin to loathing.

Strange.

"Quiet!" A sharp voice erupted, cutting through all the chatter. The voice was followed by a book impacting itself on the teacher's table. Shirou wisely decided to stop just a few feet away from the now livid homeroom teacher. "What did I just say?!" She warned the students who had gotten out of their seats to stare and point at him.

Shirou wasn't surprised to find each girl suddenly finding their seats and trying to look as innocent as possible. Shirou eyed the homeroom teacher, taking note that she still had an annoyed expression on her face, and that she was quietly eyeing the room with a cold glare.

"Now, if you can keep yourselves calm for a few more seconds…" Her voice trailed, but it was obvious what she meant by that.

Talk and you will die.

Shirou coughed to try and alleviate not just his nervousness, but also some of the tension in the room. He ran his eyes across the room, taking in each and every face of his new classmates, before he took a deep breath and spoke up.

"My name is Emiya Shirou, I am 17 years old and will be attending the Academy for the next four years. I like housework and enjoy cooking. I also have a hobby of-" He paused for a few seconds, thinking of the right words to this next part "-of collecting swords. Please take care of me." With that, he bowed.

He had to give himself a pat on the back. That was perfectly concise and he didn't stutter once. Right; that was good enough for an introduction wasn't it?

He straightened himself and allowed his gaze to flicker towards the blonde haired woman that looked annoyed as she stared at him. She saw him look at her, and she huffed rather haughtily before looking away. Shirou raised an eyebrow at the action, but otherwise didn't pay it any mind.

His gaze shifted, quietly taking in the looks his new classmates were giving him. He was surprised that he wasn't being stripped.

Not that he thought he was anyone handsome, but most of the looks being given to him were looks of observation and close scrutiny. Like they were judging whether he had something up his sleeve.

He mentally shrugged, he had more up his than a magician would ever have. He mentally cringed at the unintended pun.

But as he continued to look over the room, he was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by the homeroom teacher coughing right next to him.

To his credit, he didn't jump, he only tilted his head to the side and raised a questioning eyebrow. The homeroom teacher smirked in approval.

"My name is Orimura Chifuyu. I will be your homeroom teacher. The teacher behind me-" She gestured towards the mint green-haired woman with oversized glasses over her green eyes. She was, strangely enough, wearing a yellow sundress. A deep contrast to the homeroom teachers dark suit and darker overall look. "-is Yamada Maya. She is my assistant." Chifuyu explained.

"Than that would make her assistant homeroom teacher?" Shirou asked, trying to clarify if he got it right. Chifuyu nodded her head.

"That's right. Now, if you don't have anything else to add, you may take a seat." Chifuyu said, and Shirou could only nod.

Shirou returned his gaze towards his classmates, this time, looking for a seat. He didn't have to look far, as there was a seat just on the second row, it was right on the second-to the-right column.

Shirou quietly made his way over towards it, and sat down. He looked to his left, to the closest classmate he had, and offered her a smile and an outstretched hand.

"Hi, I'll be sitting next to you from now on. My name is Emiya Shirou, can I bother you for yours?" Rin's lesson's in tact and diplomacy really paid off. So far, he hadn't done anything to piss anyone off, sans the curly blonde haired woman that is. But hopefully, he could get in good terms with the classmate right next to him.

The woman regarded him with a look of surprise. Shirou noticed that she looked rather stiff, before he noticed that her eyes were darting left and right, as if trying to look for a way out. Finally, she seemed to notice that he still had his hands outstretched and was waiting for her. She breathed in; before she offered him a rather plastic smile that was quite obvious was being forced. "S-Shinonono Houki." She said. "N-nice to meet you Emiya-san." She offered him an amicable smile.

Shirou didn't register what she had said after the name, nor did he register her letting go of his hand. He didn't register Chifuyu begin speaking about the class and the curriculum, he didn't register anything except for the name he was given.

"Shinonono?" He questioned silently.

**Mechanized Magus**

**XxX**

'_That was hard.'_ Houki thought to herself as she sighed mentally. Well, at least she was able to tell him her name. She didn't expect him to suddenly offer him her name, nor did she expect the handshake. And even though she was more accustomed to bowing, she wasn't so far gone that she didn't know how to be polite.

'_Still…'_ She thought as she looked to her right, eyeing the new student with a look of scrutiny._ 'A male pilot huh…'_ She thought.

Hopefully, she didn't need to interact with him aside from the occasional 'hello' and 'goodbye'. She didn't know the first thing about interacting with a stranger, let alone a male stranger, and she didn't see herself starting anytime soon.

She didn't know anything about making conversation, as she had no friends. So suddenly having someone talk to her and offer a name as well as asking hers had been slightly disconcerting. But her training allowed her to remain calm and return the handshake as well as a small, albeit slightly, forced smile.

Houki shook her head as she tried to clear her head. She needed to focus, the teacher was teaching the basics of controlling the IS, it wouldn't do to get distracted.

Unknown to her however, she wasn't the only one thinking about their seatmate. Shirou himself was stealing occasional glances to his left, quietly taking in his new acquaintance's appearance.

'_She does look like her, although only slightly.'_ Were his thoughts as he looked at Houki. But the way Houki carried herself suggested that she was rather timid around strangers, quite unlike the 'Bunny'.

'_But then again, Rin and Sakura are two different people…'_ He thought as he took one more glance to his left.

He felt something fast approaching to his right, and his reflexes allowed him to duck his head slightly before he raised his left hand to catch the… Book?

"Good reflexes Emiya." He raised his head towards the entrance of the classroom, where Chifuyu had been quietly standing by since Yamada had taken to actually teaching the lesson.

Shirou raised an eyebrow as he stared at his homeroom teacher, quietly asking why she had just thrown a rather heavy book straight at him.

"Don't look so surprised," She began. "Instead of paying attention to the lesson, you've been stealing glanced at Shinonono for awhile now." She pointed out, and he had to resist the urge to face palm at his own carelessness.

He didn't think she would notice those quick glances he gave his seatmate.

The room filled with women was now looking at him, some were looking at him in disappointment, some were looking at him with leering glances, and some just looked interested at the situation.

He had to give the girls credit; they were serious about this Academy.

He looked to his left, only to be met with the rather blatant glare Shinonono was giving him. And he had to resist the urge to say anything; he knew just how bad he had it with angry women. And, more often than not, he would make them angrier by trying to apologize, so he wisely kept his mouth shut for now, and apologized to the teacher.

"I'm sorry," He began as he scratched the back of his head. He would have said that her last name reminded him of something, but that would have sounded like an excuse. And him being a guy in an Academy filled with women would only fan the flames if he gave an excuse. "It won't happen again."

"Good, because I will not tolerate any leering glances to anyone in my class." Chifuyu said, and Shirou only nodded his head. It was obvious that she wasn't targeting him, but merely looking out for her students. Her eyes darted left, and then right, and to Shirou surprise, he saw her sigh. "Even if I'm stuck with a bunch of idiots as my students."

A moment of silence. Shirou feared that the students were going to retaliate rather violently. But instead, he was greeted with a stranger sight than sputtering in indignation at being called idiots.

"Onee-sama is so cool!" "I want to be like Onee-sama!" "Onee-sama!"

"Quiet!" Chifuyu rebuked the women, and they all soon quieted down, some still had stars in their eyes as they stared at their sensei, while some were giggling as well.

Shirou raised an eyebrow at their antics, an action caught by his teacher. And as he looked up at the stern woman, he could make out the faintest hint of a smirk. And that smirk spoke volumes.

He returned the smirk with his own, a subtle way of saying thanks for keeping them off my back. He really didn't want to be singled out as a pervert on the first day. If Rin heard about him 'harassing' women with his eyes, he would no doubt suffer a lobotomy after being vivisected.

Never mind what Sakura would do.

He wisely chose to look towards the assistant teacher, hopefully, he wouldn't have any thoughts of a 'Bunny' and how his seatmate was related to her anymore. He was here to attend school, and one thing he was not, was a slacker. He may not have the best grades, but he knew that grades were an important part of this curriculum. Even though all you're learning was how a mechanized suit with a magical core worked and how you can pilot one.

He took out his notebook, and began to furiously write down the words the assistant teacher was saying, as well as the words she was writing on the blackboard.

He was vaguely aware that he was being stared at, not just by his stern homeroom teacher, but also by two other women. One was his seatmate, and the other was someone behind him. He didn't pay them any mind however, as he only continued to pay attention to the rather bubbly assistant homeroom teacher.

**XxX**

"What a day," Shirou muttered as he stretched. The bell ringing in the background as well as the chatter of the student body covered the popping of his joints. He lowered his right hand to his face, and stared at his wrist watch. "And it's only lunch time. Great."

Shirou sighed, before he felt a cold look lock onto the back of his head, this was followed by the telltale sound of someone approaching him as he heard their rather heavy footsteps approaching. He had an inkling feeling as to who it was.

And sure enough, the curly blonde haired woman appeared in front of his seat, a look of annoyance and slight anger marred her otherwise beautiful face.

"You." She pointed an accusing finger at him, making him raise an eyebrow at the blatant hostility.

"Me?" He asked, pointing to himself as he stared up at her. For now, he would play along, he didn't want to antagonize the woman anymore than he had… Which he honestly didn't even notice at all.

"Yes you!" She shouted, her rather shrill voice shouted, stopping the conversations in the classroom. The women that were still in the room turned towards the shout, and silently watched the whole exchange. Shirou had to resist the urge to palm his face, he didn't want attention. No, that was on his list called 'Do not want'.

For now though, he would be the better ma- uhh, better person, and talk to her calmly and try to reconcile. "Is something wrong?" He asked calmly, trying not to show his annoyance and vehemence at being called out so rudely.

"Of course there's something wrong!" She shouted as she crossed her arms across her rather bountiful chest. Accentuating them as they pointed. Thankfully, Shirou wasn't affected as much and he could only stare at his adversary with a pointed look.

"If you don't tell me what's wrong, I won't know exactly what this conversation is about, and I would be inclined to leave." He warned her. He didn't want to deal with someone like this on his first day. He had enough of this kind of attitude whenever he was at the Clock Tower with Rin. The haughtiness and vehemence of someone of supposed higher structure was still rather prominent in the Clock Tower, and, since this was an Academy filled with women, the now supposedly stronger part of the human race, seeing a man here would tick off some women.

And apparently, this one was more than ticked off.

"Pretending not to know are you? Oh my, I didn't know that Japanese men were liars." She taunted as she smirked down at him. He didn't respond immediately, only giving her a blank look before he sighed and shook his head in exasperation.

"I would appreciate it if you don't make a conclusion to a race of people just from the experience of meeting one." He said honestly with a pointed look directed at the blonde.

The blonde only huffed, before she leered down at him. "All men are the same; they're all skirt-chasers looking for a quick way to get themselves off. You haven't given me any indication that you're any different than the rest." She said pointedly, and Shirou just sighed in resignation.

"I guess you're right about that," He agreed with her, not out of exasperation, but out of the truth being that she was right. He was caught once staring at a woman he barely knew.

"Of course I'm right, now, if you apologize I may let you go." She said with superiority, and Shirou found that he couldn't really take her down. Mainly because she was right, he needed to apologize.

"I suppose you're right about that," He repeated his previous words, before he gave her a questioning look. "I would thank you, but I don't know your name." He told her, and for some strange reason, she was only looking at him like he was the biggest idiot she had ever seen.

Strangely enough, she looked like a guppy with her open mouth.

The blonde regained her composure, before her haughty look returned full force. "Oh my, you must be a bigger idiot than I take account for," She taunted, he didn't respond. "To think you don't even know England's IS cadet representative." She spoke as if she was talking to a child, but Shirou didn't pay it any mind, instead; he raised an eyebrow in question.

"You're British?" He asked her, and the woman only nodded her head in pride.

"Of course," She said. "Listen well you man, you are in the presence of someone who is your better. It would do you well to remember the name Cecilia Alcott: England's IS cadet representative." She stated with the controlled arrogance Shirou was accustomed with because of the many magi in the Clock Tower.

Shirou knew how to deal with people like this. Either you give them a compliment, or you just insult them. Or, if he had white hair and was cynical, both.

Shirou bowed as he closed his eyes. "Thank you for giving me your name Alcott-san, and thank you for telling me to apologize, I fear if you hadn't told me to, I would never have done it." He spoke in a straight and sincere tone, surprising Cecilia as she took a step back in surprise.

Shirou resisted the urge to smirk slightly. Looks like she took him for granted and thought he wouldn't do that.

"W-well, good." She spoke, trying to hide her surprise with a tone of superiority. She closed her eyes and raised her head, and that was when he made his move. "If you know of proper decorum, then I should be able to accept your thanks and apology. Now, apologize." She said, only to be met with silence. Not even the sound of the other students could be heard, and you could hear a pin drop.

For a few silent seconds Cecilia waited for the man's apology. But it never came, five seconds turned to ten, and then to fifteen. Before she opened her eyes to glimpse at the man that was to apologize.

Instead of seeing him however, all she was met was an empty chair with her classmates looking at her with varying degrees of faces. The faces were of, but was not limited to, shock, mirth, confusion, and surprise.

Cecilia herself, was shocked that the man had just left her there to make a fool of herself. The shock soon turned to realization, and then to anger. Finally, that anger turned to indignation, before she shouted the name of the one that caused these feelings in the first place.

"Emiya!"

**XxX**

"Shinonono-san?" Shirou began tentatively as he approached Houki. Said woman looked up from the meal she was eating alone in one corner of the cafeteria. Surprised at being called, but her surprise soon turned to antipathy as she saw who had called her. And Shirou couldn't blame her for that.

"What is it?" Her tone was sharp, and had a certain edge to it that spoke 'Talk fast and you might live.'

"Uhh," He muttered as he scratched the nape of his neck nervously. If he was going to do this, it had be heartfelt and true, lest he make her even madder or more disgusted at seeing him. "About the thing in the classroom-"

"Save it." She spoke sharply and Shirou flinched. "I don't want to hear it, if you're here to apologize and say that you want to get to know me, leave. Now." Houki's tone was final; this was accentuated by her turning back to her meal to eat it.

Shirou looked at her with a raised eyebrow, before he heard the tell tale signs of whispering around him. He took a cursory glance backwards, and saw that most of the women in the cafeteria were pointing at him and whispering. It was just like back in the classroom, and it was annoying.

"Shinonono-san," He tried again, turning his gaze back towards the pony-tailed woman. Houki took another bite out of her tempura, before she cracked one eye open and let it wander towards Shirou. "I just wanted to-"

"No. You don't." Her tone was bitter and annoyed, surprising Shirou at the sheer amount of it in her voice. "You don't want to apologize, you just need to apologize so you wouldn't look bad in front of others." She spoke, her voice low as she closed her eye once more, signaling that she didn't want to continue this conversation anymore.

Shirou scratched the back of his head in exasperation. "You're right that I do need to apologize," He began, but got no reaction from the eating woman. "But it's not for that reason." He said clearly and without waver. This got a reaction as Houki stopped eating and glanced towards him, her eyes showing slight surprise in them.

"I don't need to apologize for my reputation," He began, closing his eyes and scratching the back of his head. "I need to apologize because it was rude." He straightened himself as he stared at Houki, who was visibly showing her surprise as her wide eyes stared at Shirou.

"So with that said," Shirou began to bow, surprising the woman even further, but before he could complete the full bow however, a shrill voice suddenly shouted from behind him.

"Emiya!" The voice of Cecilia Alcott cut through the silence that permeated the cafeteria, and Shirou jumped in surprise at the sheer volume of the voice.

Shirou turned around, and was met with the furious face of one Cecilia Alcott, her eyes telling him all he needed.

She was livid.

"You!" She shouted from across the cafeteria before she approached him, her heavy footsteps only gave her an even more menacing look.

Shirou wasn't disturbed in the slightest.

"Yes Alcott-san? Is there a problem?" He asked her as she approached. Though she didn't seem to register his question at all, as she only stared at him with a livid expression on her face.

"Yo-You uncivilized perverted insensitive man!" She insulted as she finally got within arms reach of Shirou, and for a second, Shirou tensed, expecting a slap to the face.

And that was what Cecilia was about to do, but managed to take a deep breath as her hand was raised into the air. She soon brought the hand down and glared at Shirou. "What you did was insulting and insensitive, I demand an apology for that." Se demanded, and Shirou could only raise an eyebrow.

A few tense seconds passed without words being spoken, even the cafeteria filled with women stared in silence as the first year IS Cadet Representative confronted the only man in the entire academy.

Finally, the first sound was heard, and it came from Shirou. Who was now bowing politely as he had his eyes closed. "I apologize for any disrespect I may have shown, I hope you may be able to forgive any transgressions." He spoke evenly and cleanly, surprising the entire student body that had occupied the cafeteria that day.

Including Cecilia, who had taken a step back in surprise. She covered it up quickly by coughing into her hand, trying to recover from her surprise. "V-very well, now, I demand an apology for the other thing." She said, which only made Shirou shake his head.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that." He said simply before turning around and facing the confused Houki. The action was taken as an insult by Cecilia.

"And why ever not?" She demanded an answer, her tone telling him to thread lightly. But he wouldn't be intimidated, he didn't even deign it of any importance at all as he ignored the question all together. He then promptly turned around, ignoring the pointed look Cecilia was giving him, and faced Houki once more.

"As I was saying," He began as he started to bow, surprising the pony-tailed woman at the suddenness of the action. "I apologize, I did not hold any ill will when I was staring at you in the classroom, nor did I wish to embarrass you for my being called out by Orimura-sensei." Once again, he spoke cleanly and evenly, like he had practiced apologizing before.

"A-ah." Houki was surprised at the abruptness of the apology and couldn't react for a few seconds. After those few seconds however, she managed to take a deep breath before she nodded her head in acknowledgment. "That's alright Emiya-san, just don't le-"

"It most certainly is not alright." And once again, Cecilia spoke, interrupting the two from talking. Houki looked behind Shirou, only to find an annoyed looking Cecilia glaring at Shirou's back.

Shirou didn't react at all, he only straightened himself and looked at Houki, and she looked back into his golden orbs. She found that he had a weary look in them, but he didn't allow it to show in his body, as if he was accustomed to being treated like…

"Someone that doesn't belong?" She spoke out loud without meaning too, and Shirou could only give her a raised eyebrow in confusion. She saw this, and she shook her head, telling him to drop it. He did so, but not without giving her a cursory glance.

Shirou then addressed the person that had interrupted him, his voice still calm and collected, and truthfully, Houki as well as some of the other women in the cafeteria were amazed that he was still so calm. "And why are you speaking for Shinonono-san, Alcott-san?" He asked as he turned around, his voice still calm, but it was holding a certain edge to it.

Cecilia caught the edge, and she only smirked in return, unfazed at just how bad she was making the situation. "It is not alright simply because you are a man Emiya." She stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "For a few years now, men have begun to decline in their 'supposed' dominance, allowing us women to pick up the pieces of a broken world that you men created." She explained with a haughty air of superiority, something that Shirou was beginning to get increasingly annoyed with. "As such, for a man to openly gawk at a woman so much better than him is something of an insult for not just Houki-san, but also for other women."

Shirou raised an eyebrow in question. Was she really-? "Are you really speaking for the entire woman race?" He asked her, and with that question, Cecilia only nodded her head as she crossed her arms under her chest.

"Of course," She spoke clearly. "I am a Representative Candidate after all, who better to speak for women than me?" She said, with as much confidence in her tone as she could muster.

Shirou just stared at her, clear disbelief in his eyes as he did so. "But you're not Shinonono-san's Representative, she isn't from England… Right?" That last part was directed to Houki as Shirou turned around, one raised eyebrow asking her to confirm his sentence.

Houki nodded her head. "Yes, I am Japanese Emiya-san." Houki confirmed. Shirou nodded his head in thanks as he turned back to Cecilia, who still had a small smirk on her face.

"Even so," Cecilia wasn't at all fazed at the dismembering of her argument. "She is still someone of a higher structure than you, and as such, you're apology cannot simply be accepted without recompense for your actions." She explained before her eyes darted towards Houki, who looked at her in confusion.

They hadn't really talked much before, as Houki wasn't one to approach anyone. But Cecilia was here trying to talk for her. And Houki found that she was thoroughly disturbed by it. She didn't need recompense from Emiya, she just wanted to be left alone. And yet, here was Cecilia trying to goad her into action against a man who was apologizing in full at his rude actions. And nothing about his movements indicated that he held a hidden motive in them, he was genuinely apologizing for his actions.

But as Houki's thoughts drifted, she allowed herself to listen to what Cecilia had to say next. "I expected better from you Houki-san, a woman of your achievements and structure should not debase yourself to someone as low as him." She said with a slightly disappointed tone, a tone that Houki found positively grating.

"And what would you know Alcott-san?" Houki snapped, her eyes narrowing at the blonde woman.

Cecilia, to her credit, wasn't fazed as she just shrugged her shoulders. "I know that you are someone that won the national kendo competition last year, I know that you are the sister to the genius that invented the IS cores that we now use today. And I know that you are someone better than this man in front of you. He embarrassed you, and now he should pay recompense for his actions." She stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Houki grit her teeth in frustration. She didn't get it! She wasn't getting it at all! All she knew about her was that she was a kendo champion with a genius sister! How could she say she speaks for her when she doesn't even know the hardships she went through to get here today?!

Houki opened her mouth to utter a stinging insult to the insensitive blonde woman, but was stopped as the third person in their argument finally spoke up, his right fist hitting his open left palm as he stared at Houki with a gleam in his eyes. They had completely forgotten that he was in between them both for the last few seconds.

"So that's where I knew you from!" He said suddenly, surprising the two women at the random comment. "You were part of the national Kendo championships last year!" He said with a slight smile on his face as he pointed at her.

Houki could only look at Shirou, before she nodded her head slowly. "Y-yeah, I was the champion for the High school branch." She confirmed, and that only served to make Shirou smile slightly wider.

"I knew it! Fuji-nee was talking about someone that blew her away, but I didn't think she'd actually be in the IS Academy!" Shirou said with a smile. Which only further caused Houki to look at him in confusion.

"Fuji-nee?" She uttered the name in confusion, and for a few seconds, she couldn't say anything more. Thankfully however, she didn't need to as Shirou only nodded his head.

"Fujimura Taiga, she's my, uhh…" He trailed, a nervousness he hadn't shown before now appearing on his face. "She's my older sister." He said with a nervous laugh.

"Fujimura?" Houki repeated the name, unsure of where she heard it before. After a few seconds of thinking, her eyes brightened slightly as she finally recalled who she was.

"You mean the 'Tiger of Fuyuki'?" Houki said in disbelief, further causing Shirou nervousness as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Ahahaha, Yeah. That Taiga." He confirmed nervously. Houki could only raise an eyebrow at his confirmation.

"And what does the Tiger want with me? Hadn't she retired?" Houki asked, and Shirou nodded his head.

"Yeah, she doesn't do Kendo anymore, well, she practices it from time to time, sometimes using me as a partner…" Shirou's voice trailed by the end of that sentence, and Houki had to lean in closer to hear what he was saying. "But anyway!" He suddenly said. "Fuji-nee watches the national Kendo championships every year, usually to scout out people she thinks she can or can't beat." He explained, which only made Houki scowl.

"If she has time to watch it while judging others behind a screen, than she should just ask them for a match instead of watching." Houki chastised involuntarily. Shirou could only laugh nervously as she said that.

"Well, the thing is, Fuji-nee is like that. And she can't really do Kendo anymore because her-" Shirou cut himself off, an involuntary shiver running up his spine that wasn't missed by Houki.

"Because-?" Houki pressured for the answer, it had better be good, as she didn't like being judged by someone about her skills without testing themselves against her.

"B-because her Shinai is sealed." Shirou stated, a nervous stutter that could have been missed appearing. Houki didn't know why, but the way he said shinai, it was like it was a proper noun, with the capital letter.

"Then why not use another?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her. She knew that some practitioner of the sword refused to use anything but their own, but she really didn't know why they would do that. If you were skilled enough, any sword will be your own. That was what she was taught, and that was what she followed.

Shirou regarded her with a nervous face, before he erupted in nervous laughter. "Ahaha," He began nervously. "…For luck." He finished in a quiet voice. Houki had only been able to barely hear it.

"Excuse me?" Houki asked, disbelief evident in her tone.

Shirou sighed before he confirmed again. "Yeah, you heard right. She uses it for luck. She's real superstitious." Shirou said. Houki saw him mutter something under his breath, something along the lines of 'rightly so.' Before he turned back towards her.

"And Fujimura-san said something about me?" Houki asked, directing the conversation back to the original subject. Shirou nodded his head.

"Yeah, Fuji-nee watched your final match, and she was blown away by it. She told me you were almost like a flash the way you moved your body to counter, and that if you two were to fight, it would be a very close one." Shirou stated with a small smile on his lips, a smile that Houki found it infectious.

"She also told me to watch your fight," Shirou suddenly said, his voice returning to a more somber tone. Houki raised an eyebrow at that piece of news, but nonetheless, welcomed him to continue.

She did not expect the next few words at all.

"You were beautiful actually," He stated, surprising her greatly at the word he used. "The way you almost danced around your opponent, countering with precise movement and no wasted energy. It was like you were on air, it was mesmerizing to watch." Shirou complimented, and Houki found that she couldn't stop herself from blushing at his rapid fire compliments.

"But," Houki raised her head, only to be met with the contemplating face of Shirou. "You… You didn't look like you were enjoying it." He told her honestly, and Houki could only raise an eyebrow at his words.

Before Houki could ask him what he meant, he continued. "You looked like someone who was doing it for the sake of doing. You didn't look like you had passion in your movement, and it was only through practice that you were making beautiful movement." He continued, making Houki look down slightly, unable to look at him. "It was slightly disconcerting to watch, you were amazing, but I didn't feel like you were enjoying it as much as the people watching you." He stated truthfully, and Houki found that she wasn't the least bit bothered by his assessment. Due to the fact that it was simply the truth.

Before she could thank him for his output however, the warning bell suddenly rang, signaling the start of class in five minutes.

"Come on," Shirou's voice suddenly said, Houki looked up at him in confusion. "I'll tell you about Fuji-nee and your kendo as we walk. Don't want to be late." He said, waiting for her with.

Houki, unable to properly deny him as they were in the same class and were seated right next to each other. Only nodded her head nervously as she walked past him and towards the cafeteria's exit. Shirou following slightly behind her.

As the two exited however, the third person that had been part of their conversation, before it turning to kendo, was only looking at their backs with disbelief in her eyes.

She was so surprised that she only stood there, looking at their retreating backs, unable to say, or do anything. And; after a few more seconds of stunned silence, two words escaped her mouth that perfectly illustrated her surprise and confusion.

"What? Huh?"

**XxX**

**Here it is, the first 'official' chapter of my new fic.**

**I apologize to any Cecilia fans out there, but right now, Cecilia still isn't a fan of men. She will get better I assure you, but right now, I need her to stay like this.**

**As for Ichika fans… Sorry guys, no Ichika in this fic. If he was here, I would have put his name up as a main character, but yeah. Sorry again. That doesn't mean he won't show up though, he **_**does**_** have a sister that works for the IS academy, and another sister that wants to kill him… But that's a spoiler and is bad.**

**And to those that are curious as to how Shirou got scouted in the first place, well, you guys will just have to wait for the next chapter. Serry.**

**As per the norm, tell me what you guys think. Review, tell me what you guys think, any thoughts? Any predictions? Any bad thoughts? Tell me, and I'll read them.**

**Oh, and as for 'Bunny-fu-fu' and Shirou's IS… Hehe.**

**And I'm pleasantly surprised at the reception this has gotten in just 24 hours. 24 reviews (That's a review per hour), 56 favs, and then 86 follows. And all that for a prologue. I am just amazed, and nervous if I can make you guys enjoy this fic. But don't fret, I won't let that get me. Simply because whether you guys will like this fic or not, I'll still continue to write it.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	3. Roommates

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**XxX**

"I refuse." He said cleanly and without stuttering, not even looking up once to take in the stunned and surprised features of his classmates. He vaguely heard someone slamming their hands on their desk, possibly in indignation at the opportunity that was being offered to him; before he continued to write down words on the notebook he had been given.

"B-but Emiya-san…" Someone weakly tried to argue, but he wouldn't have any of it. He looked up, and found that his classmates were all staring at him with surprised eyes, as if they were trying to discern why he was going to turn down such a great opportunity.

He sighed once, before he put down his pen and gave each of his classmates a placating smile. It was small, but it was enough to alleviate some tension from the room. "Sorry, but I'm not someone you want leading you guys." He told them truthfully, but still ambiguously. That should be enough, and judging from their faces, they were looking at each other with tentative faces. Their questioning looks were directed at him, but he only met them all with the same smile.

His smile turned to a frown however as he heard his antagonist speak up once more. Her high and rather haughty voice sounding across the still silent classroom. "And why would you want _him_ to be our class representative anyway?" She asked, clear disdain in her voice as she pointed at Shirou. Shirou couldn't see it, as he was seated several rows in front of the blonde, but he could very well feel it. "He looks like he wouldn't know how to handle delicate situations at all, he would most likely lead us all to our academic deaths before anything." She accused.

"H-hey Alcott! That's taking it too far." Another classmate of theirs tried to placate Cecilia, but she wasn't having any of it, she continued to point at Shirou.

"There is no too far," She said, loudly and proudly. "He is a man, and men had lead people to their deaths before. Look at history, you will see that all wars were started by men." She said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

The women around the room looked at each other, apprehension on their faces as Cecilia continued to try and goad Shirou into action. They were half-expecting him to stand up and slap Cecilia for how rude she was being, but they didn't know Shirou. If they knew him, they would know he would never do that.

Not unless they were fighting to kill each other, only then would he slap her, and then stab her in the stomach.

He shook his head clear of that dark thought. Mentally cursing his training with his Servant. She was the one that taught him to fight without regards to the enemy, but also be kind enough to know when to spare someone. But from the way Alcott was speaking to him, she clearly saw him as an enemy. It would only be fair to regard her as the same. But only when they came to blows, which thankfully, wasn't happening anytime soon.

"She's right." His words cut through the rant Cecilia was giving. Cecilia stopped talking, staring at Shirou with surprised eyes. And she wasn't the only one, their classmates, as well as Houki, who had quietly been staring out the window in boredom, looked at him in surprise. Shirou laughed lightly and scratched the back of his head. "She's right about some of the things she said." He repeated, this time more clearly.

Cecilia seemed to approve his words, as she raised her head slightly and gave him a superior glance. "I'm glad you agree Emiya. It is obvious that a man cannot possibly become the class representat-" She was cut off by Shirou shaking his head.

"It's not that," He told her, surprising her at the correction. "It's about me leading you guys to your deaths. I'm not a leader; I can't look out for the lot of you and lead you at the same time. I'm not that kind of guy at all." He explained. The women in the room only gave him questioning glances, their eyes asking him the obvious question of 'why?'

"Because I'm distorted." He told them truthfully. This answer only made them raise their eyebrows, but Shirou returned to his notebook once more, obviously telling them that that was all he was going to tell them.

The class was silent for a while, and only the sound of Shirou's writing could be heard in the room. The silence didn't last long however, as Cecilia coughed and garnered everyone's attention.

"It seems we are still lacking a Class rep, if that is the case, I nominate myself for the position." She said.

It was no contest, as she was the only one that actually wanted the position in the first place.

**Mechanized Magus**

**XxX**

"Chiiiii-chaaaaaannn~~" Chifuyu had to resist the urge to hang up as the face of her close friend Tabane Shinonono appeared suddenly on the television set inside her personal room in the academy.

With a sigh, Chifuyu approached the T.V screen and greeted the eccentric woman with a slight nod of her head. An action that made the purple haired woman on the screen pout rather cutely.

"Oh don't be like that Chi-chan!" Tabane chided as she stared at Chifuyu with a pout. "We're friends! At least greet me like you missed me!"

Chifuyu only gave her a blank look, before she spoke up in a monotone voice. "I would, if that was how I was feeling." She stated, and that only made the person on the other side of the screen whine in a high voice.

"Mou! Chi-chan hates Tabane! Tabane doesn't want to be Chi-chan's friend anymore!" She whined as she faked tears that were falling from her closed eyes. Chifuyu could only sigh in annoyance at the antics of her friend.

She decided to stop her antics before they really got out of hand. "Tell me why you're calling or I'm hanging up." Chifuyu warned her friend, but this proved useless as the woman behind the screen only smiled at her. Her shoulders shaking slightly as if she were stopping herself from laughing.

"It's a T.V screen Chi-chan! You can't hang up a T.V screen!" She pointed out, and Chifuyu only leveled a glare at her. An act caught by the woman behind the screen.

"Aww fine Chi-chan. You're no fun." Tabane teased before she settled herself on the other side of the screen. Chifuyu took a seat on her bed as she stared calmly at the screen that displayed her friend.

For awhile, neither of them spoke, only staring at each other through the T.V screen. The silence was broken however, by Tabane, who was giving Chifuyu a wider smile than usual. And that always unnerved her.

"So…" Tabane began, Chifuyu raised an eyebrow in question. "Is Ikkun there? How's he doing?" She asked with a smile. Chifuyu could only give her a raised eyebrow.

"What are you talking about Tabane." Chifuyu began, slightly surprising the purple haired woman. "Ichika can't be here, he can't pilot an IS unit." She said cleanly and evenly.

Apparently, those words were enough to leave the genius scientist open mouthed as she blinked three times, before she finally reacted. "Ehhhhh?!"

That reaction only made Chifuyu scowl. Was she expecting Ichika to be in the Academy? "Why do you sound so surprised? Ichika's a male, he can't pilot an IS even if his life depended on it." She stated clearly.

This only made the scientist even more frantic as she openly gawked at her. "B-but wasn't there a male IS pilot enrolled in the Academy? Isn't that Ichika?" She asked frantically.

Chifuyu narrowed her eyes, a dangerous glint appearing over them as she stared at the scientist on the screen. '_It was like she was expecting Ichika to be here, why would she expect that?' _

"No, it's not Ichika, it's someone else. Why did you think it was Ichika?" Chifuyu asked her directly, trying to make her voice sound pleasantly surprised at Tabane's words.

Tabane seemed to panic slightly, an action that made Chifuyu narrow her eyes at, but soon the scientist managed to get her bearings as she settled down on her seat. Chifuyu observed as her face contorted from one of apprehension, and then to nervousness, and then back to her normally bubbly face.

Chifuyu knew she was faking it.

"Ahahaha, It's just that Chi-chan is an amazing pilot! I thought it would run in the family!" Tabane said nervously as she chuckled. Chifuyu wasn't convinced, but she didn't call her out for her fake reactions.

"If it's not Ikkun, then what's their name?" Tabane asked her tone slightly nervous and calculating. Chifuyu didn't call her out.

"Emiya, Emiya Shirou." She said, recalling the red haired young man that carried himself as if he were a warrior.

She noticed that the moment he had walked in the classroom, she noticed that when he had first come to the island as well. The young man seemed to carry himself confidently and without fault in his steps. His movements were concise and held nothing back, as if they were always tensed and ready for action. He was a warrior, a warrior that had survived a war. She could see it in his eyes, she could see it in his moves, and she could see it in the way he carried himself.

All because she too had gone through the same as he had.

And as Chifuyu was stuck in her thoughts of the young red haired man, Tabane was having her own epiphany.

'_Emiya?'_ Tabane's thought as she remembered where she had heard that name. It was a name that was both famous and infamous.

They say the first Magus Killer was someone called Kiritsugu Emiya. He was someone that got the job done, and someone that wasn't afraid to do whatever means necessary to see it through. He was a pragmatic man that would choose killing a hundred innocent people if it meant killing his target.

But, the second Magus Killer, otherwise known as the 'Wrought-Iron' Magus, was someone else entirely.

If the first Magus Killer was pragmatic, the second was the opposite. He thought of obscene ways to get the job done as fast and with as few casualties as possible. Even going so far as to face a Dead Apostle by himself as his partners cleared the nearby village.

Why was she thinking of the two Magi Killers? Simple, they were both called Emiya.

But the difference was, the first Magus Killer was notorious and had a face. The second Magus Killer was famous and well liked, but without a face. And it bothered the Magus/Scientist very much.

As a rule of thumb, she kept her distance from the Magus Association, as she didn't really trust them for the safekeeping of her personal research. Of course, she had had offers before, offers that included unlimited resources and permanent lodging in their most luxurious houses. She was offered stunning views of oceans and seas, butlers and maids to help; even homunculi to safe keep her houses should she ever want to leave.

She turned all of them down.

She didn't need those kinds of resources; she could make due with her own well enough. And she didn't really trust anyone with her cores, not unless they were deemed trustworthy by her.

Of course, her decision was met with criticism and aggression. They soon found out that trying to get this Designate wasn't worth getting stabbed in the stomach by an eight foot tall plasma sword. It also didn't help that they would also get shot by kinetic bullets that can pierce through a tank's armor like it was nothing. Add to the fact that their magic couldn't do anything to the energy shield, and you have yourself dead Enforcers.

But this was a problem, someone that was known to work closely with the Clock Tower could possibly be in the IS Academy, close to her Cores. Of course, she could just be very paranoid about this, but she was a Magus, there is no such thing as being paranoid.

Tabane snapped out of her thoughts by Chifuyu suddenly speaking up. "Someone you know?" She asked her, and Tabane allowed her previous persona to show again, a bright smile appearing on her face.

"He sounds familiar, but I'm not too sure." She said as truthfully as she could. Though Tabane knew that her apprehension was well hidden, Chifuyu was her friend, she knew exactly when she wasn't her normal self.

Chifuyu regarded her with a questioning glance, before she shook her head. As much as she wanted to interrogate Tabane for her answers, she couldn't well do that when she was on the other side of the TV screen. "Anyway, what did you call me for? I doubt it's because of Ichika." Chifuyu said as she crossed her arms, a light glare directed at the woman behind the screen as she said her brother's name.

Unfortunately, Tabane didn't hear her, as she was too busy thinking with an exaggerated pose that consisted of poking her cheek with her finger and humming. "Hmm," She began in a whimsical tone. "Maybe I should meet this man, he is the first male IS pilot ever after all."

At those words, Chifuyu narrowed her eyes dangerously. "You're not seriously considering-"

"Yuppo! It's decided!" Tabane shouted as she abruptly stood up, her fist raised as she looked up into the sky. "I'm going to see this man for myself! Have a room waiting for me Chi-chan! I'll be there in a few days!" Tabane's voice trailed as the TV screen shut off with a click.

Chifuyu was left there, openly gaping at the TV screen, with the thought of an eccentric scientist coming to the Academy.

"Damn it Tabane." Chifuyu muttered under her breath as she shook her head, exasperated and unable to actually figure out how her friend actually worked that brain of hers.

**XxX**

Shirou hummed in thought in front of the class bulletin board, thinking about what he wanted to do. On one hand, he could just do it, but then he would gain nothing from it. But on the other, he could not, and still gain nothing.

For a few seconds, he thought, his mind racing back to his past as he remembered the reason he stopped doing it.

He stopped thinking and jotted down his name.

Taking one step back, he looked at his handiwork and nodded his head. There was no going back on this now, as much as he didn't want to be in this Academy, he would milk it for all its worth. Being taught by Rin had really turned him into an opportunist.

"Joining a club Emiya-san?" A voice sounded from behind him, and he felt himself smile a little before turning around and nodding at Houki. He was slightly surprised that she was talking to him, but didn't give it any second thought.

"Yeah, I just figured I might as well since I've got nothing to do after classes." He told her truthfully, and Houki only nodded in approval.

"That's a good way of managing time then, uhm, if you can move a little?" She said as she got out her pen. Shirou moved out of her way to let her write her name down.

"What club will you be joining Shinonono-san?" He asked her, and for a brief second, Shirou saw Houki's shoulder tense slightly. He was worried he had offended her somewhat, but her sudden answer brushed that idea away.

"I'll be joining the Kendo club." She told him as she straightened herself. Kendo was the one thing she enjoyed. And just because someone said that she didn't enjoy it didn't mean it was true… Right?

She shook her head to clear away the thought. She allowed her vision to settle for a second, before she caught a glimpse of Shirou's name written on the right side of the club enlistment form. She allowed her eyes to move to the left, and she raised an eyebrow in question at which club the red haired man had joined.

"Kyudo?" She voiced out the club name, and she heard Shirou laugh slightly from beside her. She turned towards him, and found that he was smiling rather nervously.

"I was part of the Kyudo club before." He explained briefly. "Quit because I didn't see any point in continuing with it aside from winning for the team." Shirou said. But Houki seemed skeptical.

"You quit because you didn't see any point in it anymore?" She asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. An act that seemed to make Shirou turn on edge as he backed away slightly. Houki was surprised at his reaction, but didn't give it any more thought as she waited for his answer.

"Yeah," He said tentatively before allowing himself to relax. He sighed as he scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "I uh… I always hit the mark. I thought I couldn't improve anymore so I just left." He told her, and for a few seconds, Houki could only look at him with blank look. Her blank look soon turned to indignation however as she practically growled at him.

"You quit because you were perfect already?" Her voice came out as a harsh whisper, but she didn't care. Why was this man so arrogant that he decided to just leave it because he couldn't improve anymore?!

Shirou raised a hand in a placating manner, trying to calm his increasingly angry classmate. "H-hold on!" He begged. "I didn't quit because I was perfect! I quit because I learned how to apply Kyudo's teachings in my everyday life!"

That seemed to placate Houki somewhat as she stopped her glaring and gave Shirou a confused look. Shirou sighed in relief, before he nodded at her. "Yeah," He began. "I only joined Kyudo because I was interested in its teachings. When I figured out how I could apply them to my everyday life, I quit. I didn't need something that I already know how to do." He explained.

"But even so," Houki tried to reason, her voice still holding a harsh tone to it, though it was considerably lighter this time. "Just because you perfected Kyudo doesn't give you the right to just leave it. If you were as perfect as you say you are, you're team must have been relying on you greatly. Did you really just leave your team like that?"Houki asked him.

Shirou rubbed the back of his head in slight frustration. "I never said I was perfect, I actually missed a shot before!" He whined before he continued. "I just said I knew how to apply Kyudo's teachings to my life. And I didn't just leave my team to rot you know. I did have a reason." Shirou hastily explained, and Houki gave him the benefit of the doubt by crossing her arms over her chest and raising an eyebrow in question.

Shirou saw the unasked question, and sighed. "It's just, I have a scar okay." He told her, and that only made her raise her eyebrow even more.

"A scar? You quit because you got wounded?" She asked, incredulous at the thought of quitting because of making a mistake. She had done countless mistakes with Kendo before, but she never thought of ever quitting because of a wound. If anything, wounds made her work even harder.

Houki felt anger rise through her body, but before she could actually berate him for being a coward, she was interrupted by Shirou's nodding of his head. "Yeah, I quit because I got a scar." He then pointed towards a part of his left shoulder, presumably where the scar was located. Houki only scoffed.

"I don't need to know where it is," She said as she huffed. "It's obvious that you aren't really a man. Quitting because of a mistake." She told him what she thought. And though she was blunt and extremely rude about it, this only seemed to make Shirou smile.

"Didn't think you thought like Alcott Shinonono-san." He said with a small smirk. Houki felt herself bristle at the comment, but she stopped as she saw Shirou stiffen slightly before sighing rather loudly.

"Sorry," He began, surprising her at the sudden word. "You sounded like someone I knew for a second there. I've grown a tolerance for her rude ways of stating things, but I also have a defense against her snarkiness." Shirou explained, and Houki could only tilt her head in confusion.

"Anyway," Shirou began, pointing back towards the part of his body that was scarred, right below his neck close to his left shoulder. "I got scarred here, and I was told it was disrespectful to show scars when you do Archery."

Houki blinked once, before she allowed her thoughts to catch up to what he had said. It didn't look like he was lying about it, but to honestly quit because he was told of that? Just how naïve was he? "Well, I guess that's true. But you do know that you can just wear a full uniform right?" She asked him, and he could only smirk at her.

"Why do you think I'm signing up now?" He asked her with a small smirk. Houki began to mirror his smirk slightly.

"Well," Shirou began, Houki looked at him with a raise eyebrow. "It was nice talking to you Shinonono-san, but I still need to actually sign the official papers to join the club." Shirou said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. He may have signed for the club on the bulletin board, but he would still need to tell the official head of the club as well as sign for the papers. Which, according to the piece of paper with the club listings, the teacher as well as the club would be held next on the archery range.

"Ah, alright then Emiya-san." Houki said, but after a second of silent contemplation, nodded her head. "I'll accompany you on the way." She said. She was amazed there wasn't a stutter in her voice.

Shirou eyes widened in surprise. "Ah, that's uhm…" He coughed, trying to regain his composure. "That's alright Shinonono-san, I don't want to be a burden." He said as he rubbed the nape of his neck. Houki smiled softly at him, before she shook her head.

"It's no trouble at all Emiya-san, the archery range is right next to the dojo. So either way, we'll be going the same way." She said as she moved past him and proceeded to walk towards the dojo. For a few seconds, she didn't hear him following, no footsteps behind her. But then the sound of rushed steps sounded, and she allowed herself to smirk.

"Thanks Shinonono-san." She heard him say, she didn't reply.

**XxX**

Shirou breathed in, and then released the shot he as he breathed out. He didn't need to look, even as the arrow was released, he knew it had hit the mark without a doubt.

With a thud! The arrow he had released lodged itself dead center onto the bull's-eye. He had to resist giving a slight smirk at that. He hadn't rusted, not in the least.

He turned around as he heard the sound of clapping begin, and as he turned, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He didn't think that deserved praise, but from the way the women in the archery range were cheering at him; it made it look like he had just won the lottery.

"That was a good shot Emiya." Shirou turned his head slightly to regard the captain of the Archery club.

The rather tall woman had a head of auburn hair that was tied in a high ponytail. Her eyes were chocolate brown, and her high cheekbones and puffy lips gave her a rather different kind of beauty you saw from the everyday woman. She was named Iori Miyuri, and she was a second year student, effectively making her his Senpai, and she was also the captain of the archery club of the IS academy.

Shirou was surprised at that fact when he had learned about it. He had expected a third year or a fourth year student to be the captain, but to have someone as young as Miyuri as the club captain actually impressed him.

But he soon found out that she wasn't really that much older than the upperclassmen in the third and fourth years. She was actually the oldest in the club, being in the age of twenty, she was passed the age of a regular high school student.

Now that would have been a bad thing, had it not been for the fact that this was the IS Academy.

When one enters the IS Academy, it doesn't matter what age you are, as long as you pilot an IS, and that you were a novice, you began as a freshman. You can't just become a senior student without actually learning how an IS, an Infinite Stratos, works.

Long story short, when you get scouted, no matter how old you are, you get to repeat your high school days.

It was one of the reasons he didn't want to attend the academy in the first place. He was going to graduate this year, but due to the fact that he just _had_ to go in that room, he was forcibly put in this academy, effectively turning him back to a freshman student.

It annoyed him greatly, but there was no choice. If he didn't attend, he would just be pestered constantly by the ones in the government, as well as the Clock Tower itself. So he joined the academy before someone worse than men in black knocked on his door, on the condition that his name wasn't broadcast to the world, at least, until after he had settled in the academy.

"Nice going Emiya." Shirou snapped out his thoughts as a hand landed on his shoulder. He turned, only to be met face to face with Miyuri's smiling face. "You're in, meet here every Fridays and Saturdays, both before and after classes start." She told him of their schedule, and Shirou nodded his head in understanding.

"Thanks Iori-san." Shirou bowed his head slightly. Miyuri only laughed as she clapped his shoulder one more time.

"Don't worry about it Emiya." She said with a wide smile. "The papers should be by the door, take one and give it back on Friday." She instructed as she turned around to face the other hopefuls for the team.

Shirou let out a small smile as he handed the bow to an aide. Truthfully, he was here just for the papers for his registration for the club; he didn't exactly want to be part of the team that actually competed at tournaments. But the pleading eyes and the forceful giving of a bow and arrow gave him no other choice but to humor them.

He went past the line of women hoping to get into the team that competes for the tournament, before stopping at the desk by the front door of the archery range. He nodded at the woman behind the counter, a black haired pale faced woman with amber eyes, and proceeded to grab the registration form before exiting the range.

He slid the door open, and walked out, and not even three steps out, he was met with a familiar face walking just in front of him. Her nose buried in a piece of paper as she read it over.

"Shinonono-san." He called, and was met with the tell-tale sign of someone jumping in surprise. He clamped his tongue to prevent himself from chuckling.

"W-who?" Houki looked towards where the voice came from, and was met with the smiling face of Shirou. She relaxed a bit, before she let out a sigh. "Oh, Emiya-san." She said after sighing. She was disappointed herself; she had been so wrapped up in her reading that she allowed someone to sneak up on her. What if it had been an assailant? Or possibly much worse.

Shirou saw the disappointment in her face, and allowed his smile to soften slightly. "Are those your registration forms Shinonono-san?" He asked, trying to alleviate some of her tension.

Thankfully, it worked, as Houki nodded her head. "Yes," She said, her eyes darted towards the papers in Shirou's hands, before she pointed at them. "Are those yours?" She asked.

"Yeah, guess we made it in time huh?" He asked her with a slight smile. Houki nodded her head, a little smile forming on her own face.

"I was lucky actually," Houki said. Shirou raised an eyebrow in question. "This was the last one for the day. Kendo is a popular sport in this school apparently." Houki stated. Shirou could only sigh.

"So that's why a large number of students suddenly appeared here." Shirou said in a jokingly exasperated tone. "One second I was firing an arrow with the range barely having students in it, and the next I have an audience." He said jokingly.

Houki allowed a small smile to his little joke. "Sorry about that Emiya-san," She said, her smile turning to a smirk. "I'll be sure to be late next time for the Kendo club so I can catch a glimpse of your-" Houki cut herself off, an act that made Shirou raise an eyebrow in question.

For a few seconds, Houki regarded him with a confused look, before she shook her head. "Never mind." She said as she turned her body to begin walking. Before she did however, she faced Shirou once more. "Are you heading for the dorms?" She asked, to which, Shirou nodded. "Good, I'll come with you until we split ways." She said as she began walking, leaving Shirou behind her giving her a raised eyebrow.

Soon enough, Shirou started to walk, and caught up to Houki. He regarded her with a questioning look, before he coughed and got her attention. "So," He began. "What were you going to ask back there?" He asked her. Houki just shrugged.

"It's nothing, just a useless question I already have the answer to." She answered. This only made Shirou furrow his eyebrows in frustration.

"Now you really have me curious, come on. What was the question?" He asked again, this time, a pleading tone in his voice.

Houki again, shrugged her shoulders. "I was going to ask why you were given a bow and arrow if you were just going to pick up a registration form." She began. "But then I remembered you're explanation about quitting Kyudo. So I figured you tried out for the main team." She explained as if talking about the whether.

Shirou frowned. "I didn't even want to be part of the team." He muttered, causing his companion to look at him with raised eyebrows. "They asked me to shoot an arrow, and then the captain went and said that she'd put me in the team if I scored a bull's-eye." Shirou explained, sighing as he did so.

"So why didn't you miss on purpose?" Houki asked as they both turned a corner. Shirou just gave her a strange look.

"You know that's just like asking why you don't hold back against your opponent right?" He told her, and at his words, Houki let out a smile. A smile that was mirrored by Shirou.

"I guess you're right about that." She commented as they both ascended the stairs. They both passed the second floor, to reach the third, before passing the third floor and then reaching the fourth.

It was at this point both were looking at each other with raised eyebrows, but otherwise didn't give it any thought.

"So," Shirou began as they both reached the fourth floor and took a right. "What happened in Kendo? Did you have a trial run too?" He asked.

Houki shook her head. "No, they knew who I was, and they instantly put me in main team." Houki said. There was no arrogance in her voice, Shirou noted, there was only the truth of which she spoke.

"Well, congratulations then." He said as they both took a left.

"Thanks, you too." Houki replied.

For awhile, the duo said nothing. It wasn't until both of them slowed their walking did one of them finally spoke up.

"Well, I'm close to my room now." Shirou said, and Houki nodded her head.

"Me too, we should part ways here." Houki said as they both stopped.

Shirou faced Houki and gave her a small smile, before nodding his head. "Thanks Houki-san, I'll see you in class?" He addressed her by her first name.

Houki gave him a blank stare, before nodding her head. "Yes, I'll meet you in class Shirou-san. Please take care." She said as she bowed slightly, Shirou mirroring her actions. They stood there for a few more seconds, before they both straightened themselves and walked off.

In the same direction.

For a few more seconds, they both said nothing. It wasn't until they both stopped in front of the same door did they finally realize just why they had been going in the same direction for awhile now.

Shirou sighed, before he turned towards Houki. "I'd first like to point out I did not plan this," He began. Crossing his arms and closing his eyes. "And I do not much enjoy sharing a room with a woman if I can help it, I find it immoral and absolutely stupid unless both parties know each other intimately." Shirou explained before he uncrossed his arms and sighed. "But given the fact that the president of the Academy told me there were no more rooms available sans this one, I guess it's important that I just go with the flow. I do apologize if that sounded rather crude and inappropriate." Shirou finished with a sigh, before he nodded his head.

"But with that said," Shirou began, and he noted that Houki was giving him a look of either abstract annoyance, or loathing in her eyes. "I hope we get along Shinonono-san, my new roommate." He reverted to using her last name as a means to placate her.

It didn't work.

**XxX**

**Honestly have no idea how I'm pumping out chapters this fast. Right now, the next chapter for Zero Night is actually 3200 words in. Something must be wrong with me.**

**Anyway, I hope this chapter answered the majority of y'all questions. But if they don't, read it again. And if it still doesn't, squint, and then read it again. But if for some reason you still can't see it. PM or Review and I'll answer them in the next chapter.**

**And guys, word count does not make a good story. Just because Ichika was all over the news in IS, does not mean Shirou will be so eager to have his identity shown to everyone. Adding news copters going around, reporting about Shirou will just bring the Association over his head. To anyone not Nasuverse savvy, the Association, otherwise known as the Mage's Association is a group of mages that will forcefully prevent magic from being made public. Well, that's one thing they do. They do a lot of other stuff, but right now, that's all the uninitiated in Nasu will need to know.**

**And as to which Route Shirou took…. That's for me to know and all y'all to find out. But let me give you a hint, it's not one of the three main routes.**

**Anyway, read and review guys. Tell me what you think, are the interactions between Shirou and Houki good and natural? Did I portray Tabane as an eccentric woman with a hidden insight that she hides well in front of others sans for Chifuyu? Review people, I feed off reviews.**

**As for Shirou's scar... I know he doesn't have one because of Avalon. But this is Shirou. He takes mistakes and remembering them to the next level.  
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**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	4. Roommates and Death Matches

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**XxX**

The look she was giving him could be attributed to that he was sitting on a bed in her room. And although it was their room, she didn't seem to find it worth talking about as she just continued to glare at him.

"…"

"…"

They both said nothing as they just continued to stare at each other, one nervous beyond compare, the other judging, waiting for a reason to throw the other out of the room.

This continued for a few more seconds, before Shirou just sighed, making the other occupant of the room narrow her eyes dangerously. "Listen Hou-"

A glare, and he coughed to regain his composure.

"Shinonono-san," He tried tentatively, and it seemed to be enough as Houki just stared at him blankly. "We'll need to establish ground rules." He told her, and that was enough to make the woman ease her glare slightly.

"First we'll need to establish bathroom rules, what time will you be free to use the bathroom for your baths and other activities?" He asked without a stutter. And this made Houki blush red at the thought of talking about this so openly with a man.

"Y-y-you-!" Before Houki could shout at him however, Shirou raised a hand to stop whatever she was going to say.

"I'm merely trying to set up a schedule where we will not have conflictions. I would not want for any accidents to happen to you, and to me for that matter." Shirou said as he crossed his arms and stared at Houki with unwavering eyes, Houki had to look away. It was as if he was talking to a child.

Shirou saw her look away from him, and he sighed in response, garnering her attention. "Listen," Shirou began tentatively as he picked up a bag from beside the bed he was sitting on. "I'll use the bathroom for now, I'd like you to think about this situation thoroughly, if you find that it is too uncomfortable for you to share a room with a man you barely know, please tell me after I use the bathroom so I may find another place to sleep tonight." Shirou said; a deep maturity in his voice and eyes that surprised Houki.

Houki watched him stand and move towards the bathroom by the front door in silence, her gaze didn't waver even after he took one last look towards her, and shook his head as he entered and closed the door behind him.

For a few seconds, Houki just sat there, quietly even after she heard the shower start running in the bathroom. She looked on calmly without saying a word as she only stared forward. If one would see her now, they would see a humanized calm before a storm.

They would have been horribly wrong.

In truth, Houki was inwardly panicking inside her mind, racing through thoughts that included sharing a room with a stranger, a male, and being seen walking together since they shared a room and had the same classes.

She tried to force out any of those thoughts out of her mind, but found it was difficult to do so without blushing madly at the thoughts of what rumors would spring up. She wasn't normally one to get flustered, but this was a good a time as any to be so. You didn't share a room with a stranger with beds right next to each other on the first day. It would have been better if her roommate was a woman.

So deep was she in her thoughts that she didn't notice the door being knocked on until a voice rang out from the other side.

"Houki-san?" A familiar voice of a curly-haired blonde woman sounded from the other side, taking Houki away from her inner thoughts. "Houki-san? Are you there?" The voice tried again, this time, knocking slightly harder on the wooden door.

"Ah, coming!" Houki shouted her reply as she stood from her claimed bed. She gave the bed Shirou was sitting on one glance, before she looked forward to get the door.

Houki opened the door swiftly, and she was greeted with the nervously smiling Cecilia Alcott. Houki gave her a questioning stare, before Cecilia spoke up.

"Good evening Houki-san, can I come in? I would like to talk to you about something." Cecilia said, nervously shuffling as she refused to meet Houki's stare.

Houki crossed her arms and frowned, an act that seemed to make Cecilia tense up slightly. "I'm sorry, but my room is a mess now. Whatever you have to say, can you tell me later?" She said in a slightly harsher tone than she would have liked. Some of her earlier annoyance for the woman in front of her showing as she did so.

Cecilia shifted slightly again, but this time looking left and right as if to look for anyone eavesdropping. Seeing no one in the immediate vicinity, Cecilia nodded her head. "I would just like to apologize for my rudeness earlier this day." Cecilia began, making Houki narrow her eyes slightly, but otherwise, allowed the blonde to continue. "I was out of line assuming that I knew who you were and what you went through, it was rude and extremely uncouth for my part, and I hope you may forgive me." Cecilia finished.

For a few seconds, Cecilia looked unsure, but then she shook her head slightly, and gave Houki a small bow. Houki raised an eyebrow at that, but otherwise didn't stop her.

For a few more seconds, neither of the two spoke, only an awkward silence permeated the halls and the open doorway. But Houki soon sighed before she nodded her head. "Your Japanese is great and your manners are spot on." Houki complimented. Cecilia straightened herself and gave Houki a wide smile.

"Of course," She said with a small bout of arrogance in her. An arrogance that only made Houki sigh. It looks like she still has a high opinion of herself. "If I entered this prestigious academy without so much as knowing about the country and the language it speaks, well I would look like a fool would I not?" Cecilia said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Houki only gave her a small smile before she moved to the side to give the blonde room to enter. "Come in then, but don't stay too long. It's almost curfew." Houki warned. Cecilia could only smile as she nodded her head and entered the rather small room, Houki closing the door behind her.

Cecilia looked around the room approvingly. "It's not really that messy," Cecilia commented, making Houki just look at her with a blank expression.

"I only said that to make you go away." Houki said truthfully and with a shrug. This made Cecilia laugh awkwardly as she looked at Houki.

"Please, take a seat." Houki offered as she went towards the refrigerator. For a second, she thought of something, before she turned towards Cecilia, who had taken a seat on her bed. "I don't have tea, but would water do for now?" She asked, and Cecilia nodded.

"Water is just fine Houki-san, but please don't do too much." Cecilia said. Houki just shook her head.

"It's not much; I don't have a lot of things here." She said as she took out the water pitcher and got a glass of water from the nearby sink. Cecilia took this opportunity to look over the rather Spartan room.

There wasn't much aside from the things the Academy gave the other rooms, which included a small plasma TV, two beds, a small kitchen that consisted of a refrigerator, a sink, and an electric stove, and a phone between the two beds. She would have said there was the dividers between the beds, but it was simply intended to be there in the wall.

The only thing that really stood out was the corner by the balcony window, it held two shinai with a bokken leaning into the wall. Cecilia raised an eyebrow at seeing two shinai, but otherwise didn't give it any thought.

Cecilia turned towards Houki, who had seated herself across from her. She gladly took the offered glass and took a sip, before she looked on at Houki. Who was looking at her with a look of indifference.

"So Houki-san," Cecilia began, trying not to sound nervous when in reality, she was extremely so. Houki raised an eyebrow in question. "What do you think of-" Cecilia paused as a frown began to mar her beautiful face. "-Of Emiya?" She finished with a slight huff.

Houki raised an eyebrow at the sudden question and the way she had said that. As far as she knew, Shirou hadn't really done anything to antagonize Cecilia, aside from him being in this Academy that is.

Houki crossed her arms and thought for a moment. "I guess if I had to say what I feel about him," Houki stopped for a second before she nodded her head. "I guess I'm indifferent to him." She told Cecilia truthfully.

Cecilia seemed unsatisfied with her answer as she shook her head in disdain. "But what he did to you, he embarrassed you! And he obviously has another agenda about it as well! He was looking at you in class openly! Doesn't that embarrass you and make you at least a bit wearier of him?" Cecilia asked, her voice increasing in volume steadily as she finished her sentence. Houki only regarded her with a calm stare.

"As far as I know, he has been rather forthcoming with me. He has apologized and stated that he wouldn't be doing that again. There is no reason to doubt his words." Houki said as she stared at Cecilia.

Cecilia shook her head. "And there is no reason to trust his words as well." She countered, making Houki frown.

"I never said I trusted him," Houki began as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I just said there's no reason to distrust his words, seeing as he has yet to lie to me about anything." Houki finished with a sigh.

"And honestly," Houki continued as she uncrossed her arms and stared at the still confused looking Cecilia. "I have no idea why you hate him so much, he hasn't even made a move to talk to you Alcott, yet you continue to antagonize him whenever you get the chance." Houki pointed out, making Cecilia narrow her eyes at her words.

"Are you saying you'll take his side over mine? Your fellow woman?" She challenged as she placed the glass down on the nearby end table. Houki shook her head negatively, looking positively exasperated at Cecilia's words.

"I didn't say that!" She shouted in frustration. "I just meant that it isn't justified in the slightest! If someone who you barely know comes up to you and antagonizes you at every step you take, would you be so kind as to ignore them pointedly? Even if said person embarrasses you in front of the class?" Houki asked, her eyes pointedly narrow. Cecilia frowned at her words, but otherwise shook her head.

"Of course not." She said calmly, quite opposite of Houki's earlier passionate tirade. "I wouldn't let them get away with it in the slightest. I'd fight back." Cecilia stated as she too crossed her arms. Her blue eyes boring into Houki's amber ones.

"Then you shouldn't take advantage of Emiya-san's patience." Houki stated. "A man can only-"

"Don't talk about men like they deserve to be treated with respect!" Houki flinched at the sheer volume and passion in Cecilia's voice. "All men are the same, they are lecherous, perverted, and get off with sick fantasies that often include women. They treat women as an object and they only look out for themselves." Cecilia's voice grew softer as she continued to speak. "They never once think about the way a woman would feel." These last few words weren't heard by Houki, but she raised an eyebrow at how much those words seemed to drain the blonde woman in front of her.

For a few seconds, there was only an awkward silence. Neither woman spoke to each other, and neither woman looked at the other. They only stared at random places as each was lost in their own thoughts.

It wasn't until they both heard a door sliding open, did Houki finally remember they had talked about her roommate. Her roommate that had been in the bathroom the whole time.

"Y-y-you!" Cecilia's voice suddenly erupted as she stood up and pointed at the red-haired teen. Shirou didn't bother giving her a glance.

Instead, Shirou turned towards Houki, and quietly raised an eyebrow in question. For a few seconds, Houki didn't say anything. Too frozen at the thought that Shirou had heard their entire conversation. She only snapped out her thoughts as Shirou sighed, and went towards the bed she was sitting on.

"Don't come near Houki-san you letch!" Cecilia warned as she pulled her arm back. A faint hum of _something_ began to permeate the otherwise noiseless room as she did so.

This time, Shirou did look at Cecilia, but not at her directly. He looked towards the arm she had by her back, and noticed that there was a faint glowing to it. He stood there and stared at it for a few seconds, before he shook his head and went towards the bed once more.

"I said don't come near Hou-"

"I'll notify the president Shinonono-san, but for now, can I just leave some of my stuff in this room for pickup?" Shirou asked politely as he picked up another bag from beside the bed, and placed his previous bag on the floor.

Without waiting for an answer from Houki, Shirou turned around and went for the door. The soft hissing sound of the door opening echoed through the room. But Shirou wasn't exiting just yet.

Shirou stood at the open door for a few seconds, before he turned his body slightly. Looking over his shoulder to look at Cecilia. His golden orbs met Cecilia's blue ones, and she soon found out that she couldn't really look away from them.

"I don't know what happened to you Alcott to make you distrust men this badly," Shirou began, his golden orbs flashed for a moment, but it was so fast that Cecilia thought she had imagined it. "But it would be wise to let go of the past and continue moving forward." He told her, and then turned back towards the door. Walking out of the now silent room.

It wasn't until the door had fully closed, did Houki finally realize why Shirou had looked at her with a questioning stare. He was asking her if she still wanted him to be her roommate.

And she didn't give an answer.

**Mechanized Magus**

**XxX**

"…-ke up." He groaned as he shuffled slightly, pulling his knees closer to his body as he tried to ignore voice that was so noisy.

"…-ake up!" It was louder this time, but otherwise, he didn't pay it any mind. He turned in his sleep, enjoying the smell of grass that entered his nostrils as he felt sleep begin to take him once more.

"…." He reveled in the silence, and he felt his consciousness fading away once more. He could feel his thoughts fading as he drifted off to sleep.

But it didn't last long.

"I said-!" The voice's rising tone and angry demeanor alerted him of danger. He felt his instincts take over, and, a second later, he was wide awake. "-Wake up!"

He rolled out-of-the-way as a heavy book proceeded to land on the place where he laid his head a moment ago. But he didn't stop with just rolling away, his legs swept on the ground, intent on knocking his attacker down.

He saw his attacker jump in the air, letting his leg slide past her legs, before she landed and proceeded to give him a…..

Bonk!

Swift hit on the head. Shirou growled in pain as he rolled on the ground, clutching his aching head as he did so. "Damn it Rin!" He said out of reflex, but the voice that followed was most certainly not Rin.

"Idiot," The stern voice said, Shirou looked up, only to find his homeroom teacher standing over his beaten form. Arms crossed with a look of death written all over her face. Her black suit and long hair flowing as the early morning wind picked them up. "What are you doing sleeping out here when you have a room assigned to you?" She asked, her stern expression never wavering.

Shirou then proceeded to sit up while rubbing the back of his battered head. From that attack alone, Shirou knew that she was trained. Highly trained to have dodged his swift sweep of her legs.

Shirou stopped rubbing his head as he looked up at her, leaning back as he did so. "Problems with my roommate. I was going to ask the President if I could get another room, but it happened a little late and I never got to talk to them." Shirou stated as he stretched his arms over his head. He looked down, and found that his white uniform was stained by dirt and grime. A couple of grass leaves were sticking onto it.

"You got into a fight with your roommate?" Chifuyu asked. Shirou sighed before he shook his head and proceeded to stand, wiping away any dirt that he could.

"Not really a fight," Shirou said monotonously. "We just both agreed that it wasn't good for a man and a woman to share a room without knowing each other intimately." Shirou stated. It wasn't exactly a lie, but he was withholding information. Hopefully, his homeroom teacher wouldn't catch on.

"You're not telling me something." And of course, Rin's lessons with telling half-truths would just be brushed aside by this observant woman.

Shirou sighed before he nodded his head. "Yeah I am," He confirmed. He never looked at his homeroom teacher, but he could tell she was giving him a scowl. "But that's my business, not yours." He told her as he looked at her, locking eyes with the older woman.

For a minute, neither spoke, only observing each other through their eyes. Finally, it was Chifuyu who broke the silence, as well as the staring contest. "Don't disrespect me," She warned, before she moved past him. "Now come on, class will be starting soon. Get yourself cleaned up before you-" She cut herself off, before she turned around and looked Shirou over one more time. "On second thought, come in as you are now." She said, making Shirou look at her with wide eyes that asked if she was crazy.

Chifuyu only scowled. "That's an order. Now pick up your bag and come on. March!" She barked, and Shirou found himself compelled to do as he was told. He quickly picked up his bag and ran/marched towards his class.

As Shirou passed Chifuyu, he never noticed the intense stare Chifuyu was giving him as he did so.

'_That man is just like me.'_ She thought as she thought back on the eyes of Shirou. Those brown eyes that shined golden under the light, there was a dullness in them that you only see when see War. When you see people die, when you see people killed, and when you yourself kills.

'_I have to keep a closer eye on him, Tabane might just have a field day with this one if he's not careful.'_ She thought before she proceeded to walk again.

Chifuyu had no idea just how correct she was in her thoughts.

**XxX**

Shirou arrived a few minutes later, slightly out of breath, but otherwise having a huge lead from Chifuyu. He slid open the door and proceeded to enter, purposely ignoring the blank stares and the pointing at his dirty clothes. It didn't help that his bag was olive-green; it looked like he had gone camping the entire night and had slept on the grassy dirt.

It didn't matter evem if that was the truth.

He proceeded to his seat, taking one glance towards his seatmate, who was giving him a guilty stare, before he took his eyes away from her, and allowed his gaze to shift towards his seat. He placed his green bag on the floor next to his desk, and proceeded to unceremoniously plop down on his desk with a sigh.

This action caused the women around him to look at him with wide eyes and strange looks. But he didn't pay them any mind; he leaned back onto his chair and stared at the ceiling. Hoping to block out the sounds and voices that came from pointing and talking about him.

He was vaguely aware of Houki staring at him, as well as another pair of eyes from behind him looking at the back of his head.

"U-uhm," He heard Houki begin from the seat next to him. He opened his eyes and looked over towards her, but she wasn't look at him. She was looking down on the ground with a guilty look in her eyes. "E-Emiya-san?" She began tentatively.

Shirou tilted his head towards her, his eyes asking what she wanted to say to him.

"About last night," She began tentatively. Shirou only furrowed his eyebrows, not at all understanding why she was so nervous. There was nothing to be nervous, nor was there anything to be guilty about. Did she accidentally open his bag and saw his stuff by any chance?

"What about last night?" He asked her, genuinely confused about why she was brining up last night. Houki only looked at him with wide eyes.

"Y-you slept outside right?" She asked, her voice holding a bit of guilt in them. Shirou finally got why she was so jittery. She was guilty that he slept outside? That wasn't really that big a deal.

"It's no problem Houki-san." He stated with a smile, using Houki's first name to ease the tension a bit. It seemed to work somewhat, as Houki visibly relaxed, albeit only slightly.

"But you slept on the ground outside right? That's why you're dirty right now right?" Houki asked, and this only made Shirou smile.

"Yeah, but like I said. It's not a problem at all." He smiled a reassuring smile, but that didn't seem to work, as she was continuing to look at him with a guilt ridden face. Shirou sighed, but before he could try to reassure her again. A figure appeared right in front of him, a blonde curly-haired figure in fact.

Shirou gave Cecilia a blank look. "Good morning Alcott-san, can I help you?" He asked her, trying to act decent so as not to anger the already angry woman… Why was she so angry this early in the morning?

"…." Cecilia didn't say anything, she only continued to stare down at him, a look of loathing in her face, as well as righteous indignation. And for a few more seconds, neither spoke. It wasn't until Cecilia slammed both her hands on Shirou's desk, did the silence finally break. Along with the chatter of the other students around the room.

"I advise you to no longer talk to Houki-san, Emiya." She warned, making Shirou raise an eyebrow at the warning.

He opened his mouth to ask her why, but she cut him off. "It is obvious that you are some sort of stalker that has been following Houki-san since you saw her win the Kendo championships last year." She stated without a hint of shame, she sounded confident in her accusation, and she didn't seem like she would back down. Even if he was going to correct her. "I don't know what you pulled to get yourself in this Academy, but I will tell you this. You stay away from Houki-san if you know what's good for you." She warned him as she narrowed her eyes at him. Shirou could only give her a blank look, not bothering to correct her in any way.

For awhile, neither spoke, one only gave the other a blank look, whilst the other was staring at the other like they were a sick excuse of a human being. The other women in the room could only look, apprehension and tension in their faces as they stared on at the scene playing in front of them.

Finally, the silence was broken. It was broken by Shirou sighing and shaking his head in a sign of exasperation. He took one last glance at Cecilia, before he looked away. Pointedly ignoring her, this only served to irk her even more.

"Listen you!" She shouted, once more slamming her hands on Shirou's desk. Shirou gave her a bored look, raising an eyebrow in question at why she just did that. "Stay away from Houki-san! And the other women too for that matter! You obviously have a very good connections to get yourself in this prestigious academy, but let me tell you that those connections are useless unless you actually can pilot an IS!" She shouted at him.

At her last few words, Shirou finally seemed to react, straightening himself and then allowing his eyes to lock with Cecilia's. Cecilia, not at all expecting a reaction from Shirou, flinched slightly as Shirou's eyes locked with hers. His golden orbs showing an emotion she didn't expect him to show so soon. Annoyance.

"You think I like being here?" Shirou asked; his voice alarmingly cold as he stared into Cecilia's blue eyes. "You think I'm here because I want to be?" He asked again, this time steadily standing up as he did so, his voice increasing in volume as he steadily allowed his full height to tower over Cecilia. But his voice never lost its coolness; he never allowed it to be more than a cold voice. "I never asked to be sent to this academy you know. I never asked to have an IS suddenly respond to me just as I was passing by a door. I never wanted that IS to suddenly and autonomously take me into its body, and assimilate itself to fit me. I just happened to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time. And yet I get no choice but to attend an academy all because an IS responded to me?" Shirou stated, his mind drifting back to the day that it all started.

Mitsuzuri had come to him, asking him if he can come with the Archery team to Tokyo to attend an Archery tournament. She said he wouldn't be competing, and he would only be taking care of the equipment since Shinji….

He agreed of course, telling Mitsuzuri there was no need in thanking him and he would do so gladly. He never expected that the school they were going to also had entrance tests that day, both for the school itself, and for the IS academy.

Mitsuzuri had given him a break, telling him that he could go to the bathroom and get a bite to eat since he was done inspecting the equipment and that they'd call him if they needed him. He had taken them up on their offer, and proceeded out of the range to look for the nearest restroom.

What he got was an IS suddenly erupting itself from a room parallel to him and then suddenly engulfing him and assimilating itself with his body. He couldn't even mutter a word before it finally completed its assimilation, and he soon found himself encased in a metal skeleton, looking around frantically.

But that wasn't even the best part, no, that came after he had unknowingly Traced the thing. He hadn't meant to, he didn't even know if he could Trace the damn thing at all. But apparently, his inner world seemed to actually say it was a 'Sword' and promptly recorded it into his inner world. But even then, the thing in his World wasn't near as good as the real thing. It was missing something, something that was quite out of his grasp. It was like it was a 'Sword', but there was something else mixed with that word, something that he couldn't understand in the slightest.

He had been so busy in his thought that he didn't notice the approaching women, and the wide-eyed stares they were giving him.

From then on, it was a simple affair of just exiting the suit, and then pretending that nothing happened. But of course, it was never that easy.

The women had told him that he would need to attend the IS academy, since it was unheard of for a man to actually pilot an IS at all. He refused outright at first, but then they went and said something that really forced him to come here.

"This'll be all over the news!" One of the women that was supposed to be guarding the unmanned IS shouted excitedly, her friend seemed to agree as they were both sporting excited grins on their faces.

From there it's a repeat of the words he told his previous employers from the Clock Tower. He told them to keep his identity on a need to know basis, and that he didn't want his identity openly being broadcasted around the world. They agreed, albeit confused about why he would pass up on being famous. He then went back towards where the Archery tournament was happening, and then promptly placed himself on a far corner away from prying eyes, only talking and responding when he was called.

Of course, when he got home, he immediately called for Rin, and of course, with Rin came Sakura, and with Sakura came Rider. He relayed the story, and the rest was history. Regardless of the fact that Rin wanted him here albeit reluctantly, regardless of the fact that Sakura didn't want him here at all, and regardless of the fact that Rider only supported whatever decision he was going to take, he was here. And there was nothing else he could do.

He shook his head clear, focusing once more on the blonde woman in front of him giving him a wide-eyed stare. "Do not mistake my patience for kindness Alcott," He said cleanly, the fact that he didn't bother using a suffix spoke volumes of just how pissed he was at her. "You will find that you will miss my patience should you risk my ire."

Cecilia regained her composure as she hardened her eyes and glared at Shirou. "Is that a threat Emiya?" She asked, her tone challenging and serious. Shirou only gave her a blank stare.

"No, that was a warning." He told her simply, locking eyes with her once more.

For awhile, neither spoke, both only looking at the other with steel in their eyes. Even their classmates, who had been so eager to listen in to the conversation, were looking around, trying their best to avoid looking at the confrontation in front of them. Even Houki, who had been right next to the both of them and had been the start of their argument in the first place, looked extremely uncomfortable in her seat. It was only because she had been part of the conversation did she allow her gaze to never waver.

The three didn't look away until the opening of the door alerted them that their homeroom teacher had finally arrived, along with the ditzy green haired assistant.

"Sit." With one word, everyone scrambled towards their seats, not wanting to risk the ire of their strict homeroom teacher so early in the morning. Cecilia scrambled to do the same, but was stopped by their homeroom teacher.

"Except for you two," Chifuyu's voice cut through the room. Shirou looked at his homeroom teacher, raising an eyebrow in question. He didn't even need to look at Cecilia to know she too had a raised eyebrow, or perhaps wide eyes.

Chifuyu then went over towards her desk, before she leaned forward, both her hands supporting her weight as she stared at them both. "I could hear you two arguing just outside that door." She said, making Shirou flinch slightly. He didn't think he had been _that_ loud, in fact, he thought he kept his voice rather low. But that didn't seem to matter, as his homeroom teacher seemed to have heard it either way. "This kind of behavior is unacceptable, you two are IS pilots in the same Academy, there is no conceivable reason for either of you to be on hostile terms with one another when only a day has passed since you two met." Chifuyu stated, looking at Shirou, and then over towards Cecilia.

Shirou saw one of his classmates raise a hand, slowly and steadily. Chifuyu regarded her with a stare, before she nodded her head and allowed her to talk. "A-ah Orimura-sensei," She began tentatively. "It's not, uhm, it's not Emiya-san's fault. Alcott-san has been antagonizing Emiya-san ever since yesterday." She stated. Stealing furtive glances at the person right next to Shirou.

Shirou for his part, allowed his gaze to wander to his left, and he was surprised to see a hurt expression on the blonde's face. He would have faced her fully, had it not been for the fact that Chifuyu had spoken up once more.

"I am well aware of that," Chifuyu stated, signaling for the woman who spoke up to take her seat. "But regardless of the fact of who started it, this sort of behavior is unacceptable. The fact that Emiya had responded to Alcott's provocations is the telling sign that this cannot be allowed to continue." Shirou narrowed his eyes. Her words would make sense, if she were speaking to twelve-year olds who got caught having a fight because kid A said kid B was a loser. Shirou had long determined that Chifuyu was someone who didn't move until the time was right, or if the situation called for her to move. So having her suddenly punishing them both when she was aware that Cecilia was the one that started the fighting in the first place only told Shirou one thing, she had something planned.

"B-but sensei that's not fair to Emiya-san!" Someone else shouted from the back, a resonance of 'yeahs' and 'that's rights' cut through the air, agreeing with what the first one had said. Shirou carefully stared at Chifuyu, and wasn't at all surprised to see her staring back. Their eyes locked, and Shirou could barely see a hint of a smirk forming on Chifuyu's face.

"Enough," She said clearly, stopping any more arguments from rising up. "It doesn't matter is Alcott or Emiya started the fights," She stated. "If either party responds to the others provocations, than all this talk of fairness and what's right is moot. If they allow their emotions to get the better of them, then they are setting a bad example not just for their fellow IS pilots, but they also show the world that this Academy is training nothing more than teenagers not taking their studies seriously." Chifuyu paused, before she looked at each one of the women plus Shirou, in the room. "All of you are here under the government's payroll. They give you free education so that each of you are trained to pilot an IS. They expect results, and they expect you lot to stay in line and not let your emotions lead you." She finished evenly. A resounding silence permeated the room. Every woman unable to speak or even argue with what Chifuyu had stated.

Shirou once again locked eyes with Chifuyu, and found that all hint of mirth was replaced with grimness. He knew what her words meant, and she seemed to know that he knew as well.

Her words had basically told them to act like soldiers.

Before he could give the idea anymore thought however, Chifuyu once again spoke up. "So, I'm going to allow a match between you two, just to let you two clear the air between each other." Her words seemed to cause the entire room to erupt in gasps, some even reacting violently by shouting at Chifuyu, completely disregarding the fact that she was their homeroom teacher.

He inclined his head, and was surprised to see Cecilia smiling rather bitterly. He could see she wanted to be happy about this, but something was holding her back from allowing her full smile from showing. He turned towards Chifuyu, but before he could get a word out, Cecilia's voice from beside him stopped him.

"Fine," Her words cut through the entire room, silencing the shouting women. They all turned towards her, and Shirou found himself doing the same. Though he couldn't see her eyes as they were shadowed by her blonde hair as she looked at the floor. "I'll fight him; I'll show you all that he doesn't deserve to be here. I'll show you all he is just a useless man." She stated as she looked up, her eyes steeled as she looked at each and every one of her classmates.

"Hey Alcott! Don't you think that's too much? You're an IS Representative Candidate, he doesn't even have a personal IS!" Someone shouted. But all she got was a hard glare courtesy of Cecilia.

But before she could reprimand their classmate. Shirou spoke up, his eyes closed as he sighed. "Alright." He said, surprising the entire class. "I'll fight you." He told her, locking eyes with Cecilia's blue eyes.

"O-oi Emiya-!" The same woman who had tried to reprimand Cecilia spoke up, but he shook his head. Stopping anymore arguments coming from her. Shirou turned back towards Cecilia, locking eyes with her once more.

"I'll fight you Cecilia," He told her, no hint of amusement in his voice or his face as he did so. And the opposite for the woman across from him. "But on one condition."

"Oh? Already asking for a handicap are you? I'm not surprised, you must be scared already." She said, arrogance once more showing. Shirou didn't respond other than blinking at her.

"My condition is," He began before he looked over at Chifuyu, who only gave him a nod. He turned back towards Cecilia, his eyes holding steel once more. "We both have the right to kill each other when the match starts."

Needless to say, the entire was frozen stiff. Even the arrogance of Cecilia seemed to fade away at how cold he had said those words. It wasn't until after a full seven seconds finally passed, did the class erupt in shock.

"Are you crazy?!" "Do you have a death wish!?" "Don't accept Alcott or so help me-!"

Words of anger resounded around the room, some directed at him for his outrageous condition, some directed at Cecilia, telling her to not accept the offer, and some directed at Chifuyu, asking; no begging her to stop this.

All of this fell on deaf ears as Cecilia only gained an angry expression on her face.

"If you think this will get you out of the fight then you are sadly mistaken Emiya!" Cecilia advanced, staring straight into Shirou's eyes. Her fury filled eyes only registered Shirou, and no one else. "If you have a death wish, then I'll gladly grant it to you! A week from now, we fight to the death!" She announced, once again shocking the room into silence.

"It's decided then," Chifuyu's voice cut through the silent room. "A week from now, Tuesday on the 23rd of June." She stated with a cold voice. Chifuyu stared at both Shirou and Cecilia, locking eyes with the both of them. "If you two have any more conditions you want to give, speak up now. Your lives are on the line." She declared.

Cecilia nodded her head. "Then I propose a handicap for-"

"I refuse." Shirou cut off the blonde before she could even finish her sentence. Making the blonde look at him with fury filled eyes, though Shirou noted that they held some uneasiness in them as well.

Cecilia opened her mouth to speak, to berate him, but Chifuyu cut her off. "I believe that condition isn't acceptable Alcott." She stated; the room still silent as they continued to watch this situation escalate.

"And why not?" Cecilia asked, clearly still angry at being denied giving a handicap. Which only served to make Chifuyu shake her head.

"It's because this match is to the death. If you allow yourself to be held back by handicaps, then you might as well sign your own death permit." Chifuyu stated, her eyes not looking at Cecilia, but at Shirou. Golden eyes met coal, and she could only sigh.

"But-!"

"Enough, get back to your seat Alcott. Class will begin in a few minutes." She ordered, ignoring the pointed glare Cecilia was giving her.

Cecilia turned around to get back to her seat, but not without taking one last glance at Shirou, who was quietly sitting back down on his chair. She allowed herself to click her tongue, before she hurried back to her seat.

This act was caught by both Shirou and Chifuyu, the former only shaking his head slightly, while the latter only staring at Cecilia's back.

'_If anything Alcott,'_ Chifuyu thoughts began as she took out her book from inside the desk. She could faintly hear the scribbling of a pen writing on the white board by her assistant. '_It's you who needs the handicap.'_ She allowed her thoughts to finish before she began her lesson to the still shell-shocked class.

**XxX**

**And here we go.**

**I have a feeling I might get some flak for this chapter, but I'm trying to depict this world as some ways dark. But I guess I can't avoid flak for doing that in the first place. Oh well.**

**And to the guys that keep stating that I'm pussyfooting Shirou into the IS story by 'conveniently' placing Shirou into First year again. Let me ask you this. Would you seriously place a complete novice into a, for all intents and purposes, weapon of mass destruction without practice and prior knowledge simply because they were in their senior year? Yeah, I didn't think so. Shirou is a first year again, not because I'm forcing him their. But because it is the path that leads to common sense. If a complete novice is suddenly thrust into the senior year of the IS academy simply because they are graduating and given an IS to pilot. Then most likely they will end up hurting themselves, or worse, others. It goes like this, it matters not what age you are, what educational degree you have reached, or even what you think you know. You will be placed into Freshman year again simply because of the fact that you do not know how an IS works, how they operate, and what you will be doing with them.**

**And I know about the Alaska Treaty, but let's face it. The IS Academy is basically a military school to train soldiers to utilize the IS in the first place. Shirou knows that, Chifuyu knows that, but it seems like most of the women in the Academy don't.**

**This story won't be as lighthearted as Infinite Stratos, it will hold darkness in it that is synonymous to Nasuverse. But that's why it's so fun to write in the first place. Don't worry, it won't be **_**that**_** dark. But it will be dark enough to make you uncomfortable slightly. Fear the rolling of shoulders in uncomforableness! Muhahaha!**

**Anyway, review if you have the time. It's amazing to read the amount of people that like this. Oh, and as for the whether or not Shirou knows Tabane… Only in name, and the other as well. There is a reason Shirou calls Tabane bunny-fu-fu. And that will be explained. And no, it's not because of Rin.**

**I'm amazed that you guys seem to be liking this story so much, 64 reviews for just 3 chapters is a lot. Even by my standards. Heck, even Zero Night doesn't get that much reviews in three chapters. Thanks guys, it's amazing.**

**Oh, and yes. For those of you who have read my other Fic called Fate: Zero/Night, the 'sword' that isn't a sword is a recurring theme. I like screwing with Shirou like that. Don't worry, the principles may be the same, but they are both totally different in both fics.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	5. Roommates, Sisters, and Magi Oh my!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

***Bangs head on table.**

**Okay people. Since some of you didn't seem to get it or probably ignored the entire author's note two chapters back. I'll say it again. This. Is. Not. Any. Of. The. Three. Main. Routes.**

**This isn't Heaven's feel Shirou, this is not Unlimited Blade Works Shirou, and this sure as hell ain't Fate Shirou. Get it?**

**TO EMPHASIZE: THIS SHIROU IS NOT FROM ANY OF THE MAIN ROUTES.**

**Sorry, had to do that. Cause if I didn't, probably a lot of you will ignore it, and post stuff like. "Oh this isn't Heaven's feel Shirou because blablabla." Or even "Oh this Shirou is OOC, you really should read the VN blablabla." Well, you're right. This isn't Heaven's Feel. And Shirou is OOC. But to have you all criticize me for doing something that is intentional and could be explained by reading the AN. It. Is. Grating. Shirou is going to be OOC for some of these parts. Because that is how it is supposed to be. He isn't the titular Shirou here people. Hear that? ****HE ISN'T THE SHIROU IN HF OR UBW OR FATE.**

**Anyway! On a lighter note. You guys seriously know how to bring the nervousness from me don't you? 50 (58) reviews for the last chapter…. Yeah. I hope I don't disappoint. It's freaking scary to have that many people expecting a lot from you.**

**Also. In regards to Shirou's scar. Nope. I don't believe he has one. If there was one, it would have been pointed out in the VN. A scar would only appear if Gáe Bolg was activated on him. And I specifically didn't hear Lancer shouting "Gáe Bolg!" As he pierced Shirou in the chest. And it didn't exit through the back as well. He was only pierced through the heart, and left to die. If Saber, who doesn't have Avalon wit her, still get healed. Then Shirou, who has had Avalon stuffed inside him for who knows how long will most certainly have no scars unless they get pierced by something particularly strong. And a non-activated Gáe Bolg is just now one of them. I don't know where all these 'star-shaped' scars started. But I sure as hell know that he ain't got any scars at all. Of course I could be wrong, if so. Give me evidence and don't just yell at me. If you tell me I'm wrong, without at least giving me any reason to figure out why I'm wrong, then I'm going to call you an idiot for trying to convince me without evidence. But with that said, Shirou is Shirou. So he may act as if he still has a scar in the first place. As evident with the point of quitting the Kyudo club. Remember, he quit Kyudo not because he had no reason to. He quit Kyudo because Shinji told him that his scar could very well prevent the team from winning.**

**XxX**

Shirou had to hand it to the women in the Academy. It hadn't even been a day since he had agreed with the 'Death' match with Cecilia and he already had half of the student's population telling him to forfeit, to run, to drop out of the academy, heck; some were even telling him to apologize to Cecilia.

Each one was pointedly ignored by him.

Due to the fact that many of the women were looking for him, and he had grown rather… It wasn't annoyed, but he was irked at the number of women that were telling him that he would die. It was like they thought that Cecilia was some strong person in the Academy simply because she was an IS representative whatever. It was disconcerting for Shirou, who had fought a real battle before, had witnessed real warriors fight, real killings, real 'Death' matches, and real deaths, to have so many people telling him that a woman who obviously had no idea what war was, was someone so strong that they were sure that he would die if they fought. It was grating to his nerves.

This was the reason he was on the Academy rooftop, quietly eating his…. He wasn't eating anything. He hadn't had the chance to cook his own lunch because he had slept on the grass outside of the dorms. He hadn't bought anything at the cafeteria because he was avoiding the crowd, and he really didn't want to run into Cecilia before their 'fight'.

He grimaced as he thought back to his acceptance of that match. If Rin had seen that, she would have slapped him upside the head for being so blunt and stupid. Berating him to use better words, and to clear up whatever misunderstandings that could spring up from the words: 'Having the right to kill each other when the match starts.'

The more he thought about his words and the way the women in the Academy were reacting, the more he slumped his shoulders. Why had so many people misunderstood what he meant by those words? When he said they would have the right to kill when the match starts, that was true. But that didn't mean there would be any causalities at all. Shirou was many things, a hypocrite, an idiot, a reckless man, but a blind murderer was not one of them.

He had killed before, that was a fact. But when he killed, there was a purpose behind it. The sheer gall of the women in the Academy to suggest that killing is so easy was appalling to him. They hadn't seen death; they had only seen it in movies, TV, in novels, in comics. But in front of their eyes? No, they probably hadn't the slightest idea what real death looked like.

His words weren't meant to antagonize, his words weren't meant to anger, his words weren't meant to shock, his words were supposed to tell them that he had seen death, and he was used to fighting to the death.

He wasn't going to kill Cecilia; he wasn't a petty murderer that would kill because he was provoked. He would simply show her something that is truly useless. A human life that is about to get killed, that was staring death in the face.

She wanted to see him fall because she thought he was useless. Yet he knew for a fact that he wasn't useless. He had killed, he had survived, and now he was living. She hadn't killed, she didn't need to survive, and all her living was superficial simply because she didn't fear death.

He let out another sigh; maybe he really should have worded his condition better. He shrugged his shoulders, there was no use thinking about it now. It was over and done with, now all he had to worry about was showing Cecilia why her notions of uselessness and of death and killing were not only wrong, but also horribly naïve.

That, and the other problem that was on the physiological level.

He clutched his stomach as he heard it growl. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't eaten since yesterday at lunch. When he had come to the room with Houki, he didn't have the chance to whip up food for dinner because Houki had glared at him. He didn't have breakfast because Chifuyu had woken him up and alerted him that he needed to get to class. It didn't help that she made him jog all the way to class as well.

And now he had no lunch because of previously stated reasons, and was starving on the rooftop.

His stomach growled once more, and he couldn't resist sighing. He had been so busy paying attention to his stomach that he didn't notice the doors that led to the stairs open and reveal a pony-tailed woman looking around frantically.

Houki spotted Shirou sitting just besides the railing and released a sigh of relief. She had been looking for him for a while, ever since he had disappeared the moment the lunch bell run in fact. When she turned towards her seatmate after the bell rung, she found that Shirou had disappeared. She was both amazed and put-off by his speed that she could only stare at his empty chair for a few seconds, before she shook her head as the thought of finding Shirou finally settled into her mind.

She had spent forty of the sixty minute lunch break they were given looking for Shirou. Completely ignoring her lunch in favor of finding Shirou as soon as possible. So she had been relieved to have finally found him leaning his back on the metal railing on the rooftop while sitting… and thoroughly annoyed that he had been in a rather obvious place for privacy.

Houki stepped out from behind the door and into the rooftop. She stopped for a second to admire the vast blue sky overhead, only a few clouds and a bright sun shining down brightly, before she closed the door and proceeded to approach Shirou. Who had his hands on his stomach as she heard growling.

She opened her mouth to speak, but a breeze suddenly swept over the rooftop. The breeze smelt of seawater, and Houki couldn't help but inhale deeply. It was a refreshing scent, and an entirely new one for Houki as this had been the first time she truly stopped and smelled it. She wasn't in a hurry to talk to Shirou, nor did she feel the need to alert him of her presence. Simply because she had an inkling feeling that he already knew, and that it would only destroy the soft atmosphere on the roof.

Shirou heard her inhale deeply, but decided to just ignore it and focus on the breeze that was sweeping over the rooftop. He didn't know why, but it smelt somewhat like magic. Prana that seemed to have more Od than Mana for an ocean breeze. He could also smell coffee and cola for some odd reason. He shrugged his shoulders; maybe it was just his imagination. But he still had a nagging feeling in him that this breeze signaled something. Something that he didn't know whether was good or bad.

As soon as the breezed died, taking with it the smell of coffee and cola, Shirou turned towards Houki. Who was giving him a look that crossed to exasperation, mixed with confusion. It was quite the expression as well.

He raised an eyebrow before he spoke up. "Is something wrong Shinon-"

"Houki is fine Shirou." She cut him off, surprising him at the blunt way she had said it. He blushed slightly at the way she called him by his name, but otherwise didn't react aside from raising an eyebrow in question.

"Okay then," He coughed. "Is something wrong Houki-san?" He asked. Adding the suffix because he was uncomfortable addressing someone so casually a day after they had just met.

Houki gave him a frown, before she nodded her head. "You know what Cecilia is don't you?" She asked. And Shirou had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

Tried, and failed.

Houki's frown deepened as she saw him roll his eyes. "Don't take Alcott lightly Shirou." Once again, Shirou had to fight down the blush that threatened to appear on his face. He knew that Houki was being serious about this, but the fact that he really couldn't take the threat of Cecilia seriously, coupled with a beautiful woman was addressing him so casually really made Shirou uneasy.

"She is an IS-"

"Representative Candidate that has her own personal IS." Shirou finished for her, repeating the words as monotonously as he could. He had heard those words so many times from the many women telling him to back down before. Houki clenched her teeth in frustration at his act.

"Don't take her lightly damn it!" Houki shouted, surprising Shirou at the sheer anger in them. Shirou looked up at Houki, and was disconcerted to see the look in her face. It was a face of someone who looked horribly guilty, that thought they had done something wrong. "There is a reason she is a Representative Candidate! She is the best of the best! Her government has the utmost respect for her talent, and she will-"

"She will hesitate when killing." Shirou finished before Houki could continue. His words surprised Houki, but her surprise soon turned to anger. Houki glowered at Shirou, and Shirou only looked at her with a blank expression on his face, unfazed at the angry look coming from Houki.

"You say that like it's a small thing!" She scolded as she stared at Shirou. "You think killing is something that is so easy?! Killing means you live with the weight of someone's life for the rest of your life! How can you even-!" Houki stopped talking as she couldn't really complete the sentence due to how mad she was. Her fists were white by her sides, and her face was flushed from the blood rushing up to her head.

Shirou noticed all of this, and he could only sigh. He placed a hand on his propped up knee, and stared at Houki. Making sure to look into her eyes. "You don't know anything about me." He told her straightly and cleanly. He could feel himself reverting back to his previous self, when the War happened. He felt apathy, he felt nothing, and he felt like crap. But he knew that all these feelings were being reflected into his eyes, and judging from Houki's wide eyes and open mouth, she seemed to notice this as well.

"Houki," He used her given name, but she didn't make any move to stop him from doing so. He allowed steel to enter his mind, and fire to pump through his body. His memories all came back now, he walked a thousand battlefields undefeated, yet he never tasted victory, nor has he ever tasted defeat. He was merely intoxicated with the thoughts of victory. "There are many words you can use to describe me, an idiot, a hypocrite, a naïve man if you really know me." He paused, before he looked away from Houki. He stared out onto the sea. "But a useless man I am not." He told her.

"Cecilia uses that word so freely," He explained further. "Like that word has no meaning at all. Even now, when she says that I'm useless, she is willing to go into a match where I hold her life in my hands." He sighed before he returned to Houki's eyes. "She doesn't know the real meaning of the word."

His words were cold, and Houki couldn't help but swallow nervously. Her eyes never leaving Shirou's now strangely gold ones. "Th-" Houki closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She reopened her eyes and stared back into Shirou's golden eyes. "Then tell me, what does it mean to be useless?" She asked, although she didn't want to hear the answer.

"Useless is being," Shirou paused, before he let his hair fall in front of his eyes. He could already feel himself tearing up from the memories, but he didn't let it fall. He wouldn't let it fall. It happened, but he wouldn't let it rule his life. "Useless is being unable to save a life when you have the power to do something." He finished lowly.

After he said those words, another breeze swept past the rooftop, blowing away his bangs and giving Houki a clear look of what they looked like.

"Your eyes," She began, amazed that she didn't stutter after seeing those eyes. "They're…" She let the sentence hang in the air. Shirou only looked up at her, before he smiled. Houki felt a chill creep up her body as she saw this smile.

"I know." He said in a dead tone. Houki could only stare at Shirou. His dead eyes, with a dead smile, it was disconcerting, it was disgusting, and it was wrong. Yet, she felt strangely compelled to lean forward and hug him.

She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice she was doing exactly that. She felt herself embrace the red-haired man, unsure of why she did that exactly. Maybe it was because he looked so pathetic, or maybe the way he was smiling with those dead eyes made her want to not see it anymore, or perhaps it was because she felt sick to her stomach at the thought of why he had a look like that. Or maybe she just couldn't stand seeing those eyes, and her body moved automatically to make sure she didn't see it anymore. It was a strange feeling, to not want to look at someone who was so obviously torn and broken. But Houki found that she really couldn't fault herself. It was... It was a look of someone utterly broken.

For Shirou though, her hug was a complete shock. He didn't expect her, a complete stranger, to suddenly hug him. Heck, he didn't expect his thoughts to spill out so quickly. He didn't know why he had just relayed to Houki so much of his pain, the pain he had kept so well hidden. Maybe it was because he couldn't hold it in anymore? Maybe it was because someone was telling him he was useless and that that person accepted a match that would hold her life on the line so quickly as if she didn't value it in the slightest? Or maybe he had reached his breaking point. It had been a year, a year where he shouldered the pain of seeing her get stabbed through the stomach while he just stood there, frozen in place as body refused to move.

Either way, both were stock still in their positions. Houki draping herself over Shirou's body, hugging him with low eyes, while Shirou sat there, one knee propped up to his body, unmoving; as he let Houki hug him.

Another breeze and this snapped Shirou out of his thoughts. He gently pushed Houki away, not at all surprising Houki, but still the awkward silence that followed was deafening in its own right.

Shirou sighed, before he looked up at Houki, looking into her eyes as he did so. "Thanks Houki." He told her, and she only shook her head.

"You needed it." She said. She bit her lower lip in contemplation, before she resolved herself to ask the obvious question. "Shirou," She began. Shirou knew what was going to happen next. "What happened?" She asked.

Shirou could only smile sadly, but unlike his bastardized form of a smile before. Where it had dead eyes as well as a dead smile, this one had feeling in it, although it was sadness. "I was useless." He told her cleanly, and didn't elaborate anymore than that.

Another moment of silence, and Shirou nodded his head. "I'm not going to die Houki," He began before looking away from the pony-tailed teen. He stared out to the ocean, and he released a breath. "And I won't kill anyone if I can save them." He told her, prompting a raised eyebrow from Houki.

"Does Cecilia need saving?" She asked, and Shirou only nodded his head.

"The question is now whether she does need saving." He told her, looking back out into the ocean. "It's whether she's saved in time or not."

With that, he didn't say anymore. Houki could only stare at Shirou, unable to properly figure out the man in front of her. It was obvious he had bore witness to a horrific experience in his life, and that experience changed him greatly. But the way he was acting, it was like he didn't acknowledge it until he was reminded about it.

"You're a hypocrite," She told him, repeating the words he had used to describe himself a few minutes before. And all did was look up at her with a smile on his face. A smile that seemed resigned to acknowledge something that he long ago knew about himself. "Last night you told Cecilia to let go of the past and move forward, yet here you are obviously broken by something in your past." She said as she sat down in front of Shirou, who could only give her a raised eyebrow.

"If you're so dead set on being broken, at least give me the reason." She told him. Houki knew this was pushing it, they were strangers. Yet, she really couldn't hold back her curiosity, what could make a man this broken? To give him such listless eyes? And why did he talk about death and killing like he had witnessed it firsthand, both in front of him, and by his hands?

Before Shirou could even think about whether he would tell her or not however, a growling erupted from Shirou. Which prompted a blush coming from the red-haired man.

Shirou didn't turn to Houki, nor did he move his head from its position staring out into the ocean. But he could feel his face flush, a tell-tale sign that he was blushing. "Uhh, yeah." He began before he scratched the back of his head. "I haven't had anything to eat yet." He said with a nervous laugh.

Houki stared blankly at Shirou, before she opened her mouth. But before she could get a word out, her own stomach growled. Prompting a blush to appear on her face this time. Shirou turned to look at her, a small smile beginning to form on his face. "You too huh?" He asked. And Houki could only nod her head in embarrassment.

"Yeah, I didn't get to eat breakfast, and I was looking for you ever since you disappeared when the bell rung for lunch." Houki explained. Shirou smiled, before he shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't let me keep you then." He said told her, before he looked back out into the ocean. Houki took that as a go signal to open her lunch and eat.

Houki reached for her bento, which she had kept…. Wait, it wasn't in her hands, nor was it on the floor. She was sure she had it with her when she had come up to the roof looking for Shirou… Wait no, now that she thought about it. She lost it somewhere between looking for Shirou in the other classrooms, to looking for Shirou in the cafeteria.

Shirou noticed Houki's flustered looking, and turned to face her. "Is something wrong Houki?" He asked her. Houki didn't turn towards him, only continuing to look for her misplaced bento.

"Huh?" Houki asked, before she shook her head. "Ah no, it's nothing. I just thought I had my bento with me when I was looking for you." She said as she finally gave up looking for it and returned to face Shirou.

Shirou, for his part, could only raise an eyebrow at her words before he pointed to the spot right next to the sitting Houki. "Isn't that it right there?" He asked her, pointing towards a blue bento box that was neatly wrapped in a spotted handkerchief.

Houki looked at the spot he was pointing at, and was surprised to see her bento box neatly wrapped right next to her. She was sure that it wasn't there before, but otherwise, didn't give it any more thought as she reached for it.

Before she grabbed it though, she bit her lip in thought. She then faced Shirou, who had returned to looking out towards the ocean. "Hey Shirou," She began, his name rolling out of her tongue like it was natural now. It was strange to her, to call someone by their given name. But it felt… better, to call him by his given name then Emiya. It was a strange feeling.

Shirou turned towards Houki again, raising an eyebrow in question. "You haven't eaten breakfast?" Houki asked, making Shirou nod. "And you haven't eaten lunch?" She asked another question, to which his response was another nod.

Houki took a deep breath, before she picked up the surprisingly light bento and hovered it in front of Shirou's face. Shirou could only look at it dumbly, before he leaned back and tilted his head to the side. Obviously confused about what Houki was doing.

"Here, you can have it." She said, making Shirou just look at her like she was crazy.

"Ah," Shirou began, shaking his head frantically. "No, that's yours. I'll be fine. I've skipped eating lunch and breakfast a few times before." He explained hastily. Houki just frowned.

"I don't care," She told him straightly. Making Shirou even more confused. "You missed breakfast because of me, and you slept outside because I didn't give you a straight answer last night." Houki remembered what had transpired last night, and felt even more guilt spread through her.

Shirou saw this, and waved his hand dismissively in front of his face. "Don't worry about it." He told her, prompting the woman to look up at him and tilt her head in confusion. "Like I said, I'm used to sleeping in less than favorable circumstances, and I've missed breakfast and lunch because I-" He cut himself off, knowing that he was about to say something completely untrue. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well actually, I didn't have breakfast because I didn't have my alarm clock, which I left inside your room. And I didn't get to make my lunch because I had no kitchen." He told her truthfully.

This only made Houki giggle slightly, making Shirou pout in mock frustration. "Okay sure, laugh." He grumbled light heartedly. Houki only continued to giggle.

"Sorry," she began as her giggles died down. "It's just that you're really straight and to the point. It's kind of nice actually." She told him truthfully.

Shirou only rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. Rin and Sakura tell me that I'm really blunt." He blurted out without really thinking.

Houki raised an eyebrow. "Rin and Sakura?" She asked, and Shirou only looked up in surprise. He didn't really expect to blurt their names out without thinking.

"Ah, just my friends." He told her. Dismissing the topic by waving his hands again. "Anyway, let's compromise. You take half and I'll the other half. That good?" He asked her, and Houki only nodded her head.

Houki placed the bento on the floor and began to unwrap it. But the next problem soon became clear as she took out her eating utensils. "Ah, sorry." She began. "I only have one pair of chopsticks."

"That's alright, I can use my hands just use my hands if it's not soup." Shirou said dismissively, before he raised an eyebrow. "It's not soup, is it?" He asked her.

Houki only giggled. "No, it's tempura." She told him, making Shirou raise his eyebrows once more.

"You really like tempura don't you?" He asked her, and Houki only blushed in response.

"A-anyway," Houki began frantically. Not wanting to discuss her rather unhealthy obsession with fried shrimp. "Let's just eat." She said as she opened the bento.

…

…

…

"Uhh, Houki?" Shirou began tentatively. Houki didn't look up to him, and only continued to look at the empty bento box. "Is it supposed to be empty?" He asked.

Houki only shook her head. For a few seconds, the two looked at the empty bento box. And only the sound of laughing made both of them look up and away from the box.

"Hehehe!" A voice resounded from above the doorway that leads to the stairs. They both looked up, and saw a figure that stood atop it, arms crossed over her chest as a pair of bunny ears flowed with the wind. "You still cook great Houki-chan! But I'm jealous! You're willing to share your meal with a ma- Gak!"

Tabane didn't get to finish her sentence as an empty bento box flew at her and hit her square on the forehead. She lost her balance, and fell down on the floor beneath her.

With a loud crash, Tabane landed unceremoniously on the floor. A fuming Houki standing over her prone form, staring down at her with death written on her face.

"Wahhh!" Tabane cried as she clutched her head. "Houki-chan is so mean! That isn't how you're supposed to treat your big sister!" Tabane wailed as she lay prone on the floor.

Houki was not impressed.

As the two sisters interacted however, Shirou could only watch as he stared at the wailing Tabane Shinonono. His nostrils picking up the scent of prana mixed with caffeine and cola. And Shirou knew right then and there, he was staring at the genius Tabane "Bunny-fu-fu", "Ether-Maker", "Slightly less crazy than Zelretch", etc. Shinonono.

And the worst part was; all those nicknames were made by the same person. Namely Tabane herself.

**Mechanized Magus**

**XxX**

"You said you'd be here in a few days." Chifuyu said sternly, her arms crossed as she stared at her friend Tabane, who was right across from her. Playing with her bunny ears as she hummed a tune.

Beside Chifuyu was Tabane's sister, Houki, with her own stern face. Any person, be they man or woman, would wilt under the intense gazes Chifuyu and Houki were giving. But Tabane took this all in stride as she continued to hum. Shirou had to give her props for having nerves of steel.

"Yuppo!" Tabane confirmed with a smile, nodding as she did so. Her eyes darted from Chifuyu, to Houki, and finally, to Shirou. Who was leaning on the wall behind Chifuyu and Houki. Quietly observing the situation. "But I was so excited to see who the first male pilot looked like that I just had to get here!" Tabane said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Chifuyu sighed as she rubbed her head in frustration. Sometimes she just doesn't understand her friend at all. "Whatever the case, you being here so quickly puts strain on me." Chifuyu began. "You don't have a room yet, and I haven't had the chance to deal with Emiya's own room problems."

At her words, Shirou tilted his head. "Wait. Why is it even your problem in the first place?" He asked. Chifuyu turned around and gave him a small glare.

"Because," She began. "I'm the one that assigns who dorms with who." She explained, Shirou openly gaped at her. But before he could ask why she had paired him with Houki of all things, he cut himself off. Chifuyu saw this and smirked. "Glad to see you're not forgetful." Chifuyu complimented.

"There are no rooms left for you to use, and all the other women already have roommates." Chifuyu explained. "To be frank, I was apprehensive with pairing you with Houki as well. But I had no choice. Not unless you wanted to sleep on grass that is… Which you already seemed to have done anyway regardless of your room assignment." Chifuyu finished with a sigh. Houki had the decency to blush, but otherwise, didn't speak up.

Shirou mirrored Chifuyu's sigh. He wouldn't ever want to sleep in the same room as a woman he barely even knew. But when he was told there was no other choice. He had no options left but to accept it. Lest he really want to sleep outside. Not just for one day, but for the rest of his four years unless something was worked out. And he really didn't feel like doing that. He wouldn't accept it if there was an open option for him.

"Anyway," Chifuyu spoke up once more. "That isn't the main problem here." Chifuyu gave Tabane a pointed look. Tabane only smiled through it. Unfazed in the slightest.

"The problem is getting this woman a room for her own." Chifuyu said, as she crossed her arms over her chest. "If you had at least told me you would get here so quickly, or maybe message me ten minutes before your arrival. I wouldn't be forced in doing this." Chifuyu sighed while shaking her head. She then turned towards Houki, who was still pointedly glaring at her sister.

"Shinonono." Chifuyu began. She had to resist the urge to palm her face as both women answered her call.

"Yes?" "What is it Chi-chan?" They both said in unison. Houki turned towards her sister, who was only giggling like a school girl at what happened. If anything, Houki's glare seemed to intensify as she did so.

Chifuyu rubbed the bride of her nose in frustration. "I take it you're still lacking a roommate?" Chifuyu asked Houki. Who looked at her with a slightly wilted look. Her eyes refusing to meet Chifuyu's.

"Uhm…" She began tentatively, stealing a small glance at Shirou. Who was still behind them, quietly observing the entire situation. "Actually, I was going to talk to Shirou about that." She began. Chifuyu raised an eyebrow, while Tabane only gave Houki a knowing smile.

Shirou looked at Houki with a raised eyebrow. "You wanted to talk to me about what exactly?" He asked her, and Houki turned to him.

"If you're alright with it, you can stay in the room." She said, surprising Shirou at what she had said.

"Oh, ah." Shirou stuttered, unable to complete a coherent sentence. "No, actually-"

"If you're not taking the room, Tabane just found her own." Chifuyu declared. Houki turned towards Shirou with wide and pleading eyes. An obvious sign for him to take the room.

Shirou sighed, he didn't know why Houki didn't want- didn't like – her sister. But he could at least do this for her, after that comforting albeit awkward hug. It was the least he could do. "Alright," He began. "I guess I'll stay."

He immediately regretted that decision.

She was swift, she had crossed the room, past Houki and Chifuyu, and clamped herself on his arm in the span of a single second. Shirou barely had time to register what happened, before he looked down to his right arm to see that Tabane had clamped herself on it. A smile on her face.

"Yey! A male roomie!" She shouted as she pulled him down to her head level. "You, me and Houki-chan will have so much fun!" Tabane shouted in glee.

"H-hey, hold on!" Houki objected, standing up and pointing a finger at Tabane. "You can't just invite yourself in our room!" She shouted in protest.

Tabane's eyes seemed to gain a dangerous glint in them, and for a second. Shirou suspected that she was about to hypnotize Houki. But that idea was shot down by Tabane giggling.

"Oh?" Her voice was teasing. "So it's 'our' room now Houki-chan? Oh my, I didn't think that Emiya-kun would work so fast! He's taken you from Ikkun already!" She teased, making the younger girl blush.

"What!" She shouted, her voice high and her face red in embarrassment. "I never said that!" Houki denied, but Tabane was pointedly ignored it.

"Oh Ikkun is going to be so heartbroken!" Tabane continued, her voice now holding a higher tone. Shirou narrowed his eyes as he felt the air grow heavier. "And I'm surprised Chi-chan!" Again, the air grew heavier as Shirou smelt it gain a certain stench to it. "I though you wanted Ikkun to get a girlfriend! Or do you just want him all to yourself?"

And this time, the smell increased ten-fold. Shirou turned his gaze over towards Houki and Chifuyu, to see that they were both struggling with heavy eyelids.

"Hey!" Shirou snapped at Tabane, who was still gripping his arm tightly. "Don't just-" He didn't get to finish as Tabane spoke up again.

"Oh come on Houki-chan! Chi-chan!" She spoke their names again, and again, the air grew heavier. Houki finally couldn't help it, and fell on the ground. A heavy thud echoing across the empty room where they were having their meeting. Tabane's eyes opened slightly as she saw her sister fall, before she turned back towards Chifuyu. Who was struggling with keeping her eyes open.

"W-what's happening?" Chifuyu managed to squeak out. And Shirou couldn't help but be impressed at her fortitude. The prana in the air was strong, it was so strong that it was starting to burn his nostrils from the stench of it. But Chifuyu was strong enough to resist the powerful hypnosis that Tabane was obviously casting.

"Oh?" Tabane began, none of her usual cheery and aloof persona in her face. Instead, replacing it were narrowed eyes and a small knowing smile on her face. A smile that, unlike her earlier cheery one, was one of someone deeply impressed with someone else. "You're really strong Chi-chan." Again, once Tabane said Chifuyu's name, the air grew heavier. And this time, Chifuyu couldn't resist, she had leaned forward too much, and was now dangling precariously on the edge of her seat. She soon fell over, her eyes closed, and her breathing steady.

Tabane couldn't resist, she smiled at seeing her friend fall. "You're really, really strong Chi-chan! But unfortunately, you just can't stop yourself from getting hypnotized! Sorry!" Tabane apologized as she stared at Chifuyu.

Silence then permeated the room. Soon, the air grew lighter as well, signaling that Tabane was now letting off the majority of the spell, but kept enough Prana in the air to sustain the sleeping compulsion she just gave the other two women.

Shirou couldn't help but grimace slightly as he stared at Tabane, who was still clutching his arm tightly. He was in the presence of a very powerful Magus, and like it or not. He was at her mercy. He couldn't even react to her when she crossed the room. Granted he wasn't expecting that in the slightest, but he was taught to always treat everyone as a threat unless proven otherwise. He was always on guard, but for her to bypass his danger sense, well. He really didn't want to know how she could do that.

"So," He heard her begin, and he unconsciously swallowed nervously. He saw her turn towards him, her eyes now back to it's regular 'closed smile' and with the same smile she had on before plastered on her face. "What's the famous 'Wrought-Iron Magus' doing here?" She asked with a sweet tone as she gripped his arm tighter.

And thus, did the Wrought-Iron Magus meet Bunny-fu-fu. A Magus meeting a Magus. A weapon-maker meeting a weapon-maker.

**XxX**

**God damn it. This chapter was a lot harder to write than I thought. Maybe it's because I have a lot of people waiting for another chapter like the last one? I don't know. But damn it. I'm nervous now.**

**I'm actually happy with how this chapter finished and how it moved forward. But I'm guessing some of you guys will go 'what the hell?'**

**Okay then . To explain.**

**In regards to Houki's hug with Shirou. Yeah. That seemed appropriate at the time. Shirou is broken, exceptionally so in this fic. Why? Because this is not 3 main routes Shirou. And how does that correlate to him being more broken than usual? I'll give you guys a gimmie so I don't get pestered by PM's saying that Shirou is already broken, how do you make him more broken?**

**His Grail War began and ended quite differently than any of the three routes. He saw a death that does happen in all three routes, but in a more graphic scale than normal. Now it is up to you to interpret that as much as you want. But that is all I'm giving you.**

**As for him coping for a year, yeah. What happened cannot be handled in just a year. Keep in mind though, Rin, Sakura, and Rider had been trying their hardest to help him cope. But even now, still can't get anything through. The hug Houki gave him could very well not affect him at all.**

**As for Houki hugging. It was a means to avoid looking into Shirou's eyes. There is absolutely nothing romantic about it. But if you want to interpret it as such, feel free to do so. But I warn you, this fic won't have romance for awhile. But when it does, the pairing will most certainly be *bleep!* God damn spoiler bleeps. Oh well.**

**And it is now confirmed. Tabane is a Magus. She is called Bunny-fu-fu because that is the nickname she came up for herself. Along with a lot of other nicknames as well. I have a ton in my mind, but if you guys have any suggestions for a nickname for Tabane. Feel free to tell me, I might just use it. Of course I'll credit you. But only the most creative and wacky nicknames might get chosen.**

**That is all for now. God damn it. So many reviews. I'm so nervous. Feck.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	6. Bodies and Cores

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Edit (11/06/2014): Re-edited and fixed spelling mistakes, grammar, and some plot holes. Though I might have missed some.**

**Okay, after this chapter, it's back to Zero Night for a while, I need to finish that arc.**

**Also, starts out somewhat dark. Hope no one minds. And also very dialogue heavy as it is a world building, or world blending. Whatever you wanna call that. Lels.**

**Also, Tabane is surprisingly easy to write when you seperate her personality to three. The Scientist, the Magus, and the eccentric bunny. Though mixing it all into one is somewhat taxing to wright about.**

**XxX**

It was not the first time Shirou's life had been at the mercy of someone else.

The first time he had actually had someone hold his life in their hands, was when he first encountered Lancer fighting Archer. The blue-clad man had heard his stumbling footsteps, and he could do nothing else but run from the encroaching fear that came from Lancer just looking at him.

He had run into the school, hoping to avoid the man, but he was naïve then. He didn't know he wasn't human, that even though he had the veneer of one, he was something much more dangerous, something much more sinister, and something utterly impossible. He had convinced himself that if he ran, he would live. So he did just that. It wasn't until a red spear pierced his heart did he finally realize that he wasn't facing something that he could outrun, and that he could hide from.

That was the first time Shirou's life had been held at the hands of another. And it was also the first time Shirou Emiya experienced death so closely, so personally.

True, the Fuyuki fire could also have held his life in its hands, but when he stepped over bodies, when he left people to die, when he saw loved ones save their significant other, only to fall while still clutching their loved one's hand, there was no denying that he would die. There was no choice; he would die if he stopped moving. So he continued, and the Fire he thought that would kill him, was merely an illusion. For he would not die from it, no. He would die if he stopped moving entirely, if he gave up. But even then, even with those thoughts of never giving up, his body gave in, his mind shut down, and his heart almost stopped beating. He fell to the ground, and he looked up at the darkened sky as it began to rain.

He reached out with his hand, his open palm reaching for the sky in an attempt to reach it, to reach the cold wetness of the raindrops. It was unneeded, as the raindrops came to him, they brushed his hand, they landed on his palm, his forehead, his cheek. And then he felt at peace. He felt nothing more, as he began to close his eyes, and drift away.

But a defiant hand reached out, snatching him from the jaws of darkness. He had looked up, and he saw something that would turn the cogwheels of fate, that would make him into what he was today. An ally of justice that is so hopelessly broken, so desperately hypocritical, and so dreadfully shattered.

He saw the smiling face of a man who would be his father.

Yes, if Lancer was the first time someone held his life in their hand, if Lancer had made him useless by looking down at him with disappointed eyes, telling him that he should curse his luck that he should curse that he was born without power. Then Kiritsugu holding his hand would have been the first time he wasn't useless.

He saw the smiling face of that man, and he lost his emptiness, and what replaced that emptiness was the thought of wanting to smile like that man.

Lancer made him feel weak, demented, and useless because of being unable to save anyone with his last dying breath. Kiritsugu made him feel strong, calm, and useful because of being pulled from death.

Two opposite feelings, two clashing spectrums, and both mixed in a horrible amalgamation as Tabane embraced his right arm.

"…" He didn't speak, he looked at the fallen bodies of both Houki, and Chifuyu. Both face down on the cold tile floor as Tabane gripped his right arm, a smile still etched on her face as if she didn't care about what she had done.

Tabane sensed his apprehensiveness, and she only smiled. But her smile weren't like the ones before; this one held a sort malevolence to it, this one spoke of a Magus observing something that they didn't know if they wanted to destroy, or to keep.

Yet he was accustomed to it.

The past year of traveling around, being called on by Enforcers from the Clock Tower had exposed him to the many magi from that place as well. Glares and whispers as he walked silently through the corridors, a small compulsion on his masked face that would tell the lesser people, the ones without the means to defend against compulsions in the first place, would make them look away and never look at him.

But of course, this only worked with those people with weak wills and easily suggestible. The higher echelons of Magi in the Clock Tower could just brush it off, and those people were the ones whispering, they were the ones glaring.

Thankfully, his face wasn't the only one with a compulsion to it. No, in fact, he had gone to great lengths to conceal his real face. From a mask that covered his nose and mouth, to a spell that turned his red-hair white. The only thing he didn't change was his eyes, always brown, always golden. He did this not just to hide his identity for his own safety, but to preserve Rin's as well.

"I didn't think that the Wrought-Iron Magus also happens to be Tohsaka's apprentice." Tabane finally spoke, her voice low and deadly. But otherwise aloof.

Shirou grimaced slightly, making sure not to let it be too obvious. Rin was the one that had been running his compulsions on his face, though Luviagelita Edelfelt, his employer as well as Rin's rival in the Clock Tower would sometimes help in that regard. Rin and Luvia took great lengths to preserve his identity, not because they wanted to, but because it was needed.

The Wrought-Iron Magus existed as a legend in the Clock Tower, someone that killed as well as saved people. He was a man that chose to save everyone, rather than the many. He was a man that would kill without second thought if the person they were facing would kill a multitude of people, yet also try to save that person's life after he thoroughly beat them down. He was always called to fight alongside the Executors, as well as the Enforcers. He was a neutral party, always choosing which side would save the most people, yet would also choose to save the others on the enemy side as well. The only thing that anyone knew about him, aside from his golden steel-filled eyes, was that he had the same last name as the First Magus Killer, Emiya. And it was for that reason that people thought he was someone related to him, and the reason he had his other nickname. The Second Magus Killer.

Yes, The Wrought-Iron Magus was someone who helped and killed. A contradicting existence, of that there was no doubt. But at the same time, Shirou too existed.

Shirou was the 'Tohsaka lapdog', the 'Edelfelt butler', and the resident busybody that chose to help people. Shirou always had a smile on his face, his brown eyes that seemed to glisten with delight when someone thanked him. His constant sighing as he watched his teacher Rin Tohsaka fight with his master Luvia Edelfelt. He was a constant presence in the Clock Tower as someone who was looked down on, yet always called upon for help with menial tasks.

Shirou snapped out his thoughts as he finally replied to Tabane. "Appearances are everything to a Magus." He began, making sure he didn't sigh. That would be foolhardy since his life was in Tabane's hands. "A little misdirection is needed because I'm a powerful figure in the Clock Tower." He explained truthfully, not a hint of arrogance in his voice as he merely spoke the truth.

Tabane tightened her grip on his arm, making Shirou tense somewhat as he readied his circuits. "That's the problem," Tabane began, her voice eerie as Shirou prepared to jump away from her. He was sure he could at least wrench his arm away from her grip and get some distance from her if needed. "Am I talking to The Magus Killer, or am I talking to the Lapdog?" She asked.

This time, he really did sigh.

"Damn it Rin." He muttered under his breath, and though his voice was low, he was sure Tabane heard it, judging from her small smirk.

"You're talking to Emiya Shirou right now," He told her truthfully, his voice innocent and calm. But that soon changed as he switched on his circuits, his eyes shone gold, and his body stiffened. Tabane didn't look at him, but he could tell she was nervous as well. "But if either of these two women is hurt, then you'll be talking to the Wrought-Iron Magus, Bunny-fu-fu." He warned her, using their respective names in the Clock Tower.

Tabane only turned towards him, a smile on her face that showed that she was genuinely amused at his words. "Oh?" She began; her smile broadening as she stared into Shirou's golden eyes. Her grip tightened, and the Prana in the air grew thicker. Od began to seep from Tabane, mixing with the Mana in the air, producing a thick heavy air that surrounded them both. "I do wonder about that, they say the Wrought-Iron Magus managed to kill three Dead Apostles that were having a Resonance. All at the same time." She spoke, and Shirou narrowed his eyes. "I do wonder if you'll survive a fight with me."

For awhile, no one spoke. They both only stared at each other, their Od seeping from their bodies and mingled with the Mana in the air. The resulting Prana storm inside the small room could be attributed to that of a localized storm. They both said nothing, and only stared at the other, their bodies tense, as they readied to fight.

It wasn't until Tabane smirked and leaned forward, giving Shirou a peck on the nose, did the storm dissipate. "W-wha?" Was Shirou's reply to that sudden kiss on the nose.

Tabane giggled. "I'm impressed," She began, her tone losing its previous seriousness and now sporting a playfulness she exhibited when talking with Chifuyu and Houki before. "You turned serious not because your identity was in danger, but because you were worried for Houki-chan and Chii-chan. Not many people get angry over something that happened to strangers." Tabane said, releasing her grip on his arm as she walked towards Chifuyu and Houki. Her hands behind her back as she started humming a tune.

Shirou however, was still in a dazed state. Unable to process anything after Tabane gave him a light peck on the nose. "B-wha?" Was his reply, and again. Tabane giggled.

"I'm also slightly miffed though." She said as she turned around, unclasping her hands behind her back and then placing them as fists on her hips. Her face held a playful frown on her face. "You're saying that I'm actually going to hurt my little sister and my close friend!" She chided as she huffed. "I would never do something like that!"

Again, Shirou was still lost. A blush still on his face, as well as an open mouth. He could only stare at Tabane, who was looking away from him like a kid that had just had an argument with a friend. His reply was almost the same as before, with a slight difference this time. "What?"

That time, he finally managed a real word.

**Mechanized Magus**

**XxX**

"You know," Shirou began as he placed Chifuyu's body on the bed in the nurse's office. A thin line of red still on his face, but it wasn't formed out of embarrassment only. No, embarrassment came second to his frustration. He turned towards the smiling purple haired woman with a bunny headband on her head. "You could have helped me carry them both."

He was referring to Houki and Chifuyu, who he had had the pleasure of carrying to the nurse's office to deposit them in a comfortable position. After Tabane had explained that they would both be fine, he decided that he couldn't rightly just leave them on the floor in the teacher's office. Even though it was locked and was reserved for only Chifuyu for that day. (This was, of course, done by Chifuyu herself. The moment she had heard and had seen that Tabane was there, she shooed the teachers in the room so that she could speak privately to Tabane with Houki and Shirou. Thankfully, no one noticed Tabane aside from her.)

Tabane only pouted before she shook her head. "I told you, we could have just left them both there, when they woke up, they won't remember anything." Tabane reasoned, and Shirou just glared at her, making the purple-haired woman smile slyly at him.

"And just leave them both on the floor? No thank you." Shirou retorted almost immediately, his blush now reverting, giving his face its regular color once more. Tabane noticed this, and decided to poke fun at him once more.

"Oh?" She began in a teasing tone, making Shirou narrow his eyes at her. "Is that the _only_ reason you decided to carry Houki-chan and Chi-chan to the nurse's office?" She teased, and as expected, Shirou blushed red. But before Shirou could retort, Tabane continued. "Did you cop a feel on Chi-chan? Or Houki-chan? Or both?"

This time, Shirou's blush was as red as his hair.

Tabane couldn't hold it in, she laughed as she clutched her stomach. She couldn't remember when she had laughed like that, but it was a good feeling to laugh. Shirou snapped at her, but she still continued to laugh, her laughter echoing around the room.

"You could have at least helped!" Shirou complained, his face still red. "You could have carried Houki!" He complained, but was only left with more laughter.

"But why Shikkun?" She teased, making Shirou cringe at his new nickname. "You don't like Houki-chan? Or do you just like older women more?" She teased as she mocked a gasp. An accusing finger pointed at Shirou as she stared at him with an open mouth. "That's it isn't it?! Oh no! Keep away from me you letch!" Tabane embraced her body in a form of defense, but the excess wiggling of her body killed whatever mood she was trying to pull. All Shirou could really do was stare at her with twitching eyes.

"That's not-" Shirou began, but was cut off by Tabane again.

"That's not it?" She stopped hugging herself as she straightened up once more. She looked up for a second, before she gasped rather loudly, her bunny ears straightening as she stared at Shirou.

Shirou narrowed his eyes, but decided that even if he avoided the situation, Tabane would just point it out loud. "…What?" He asked her, his eyes narrowed as he stared at Tabane.

Tabane pointed a finger at him, and shouted, to his chagrin. "Masochist!"

Again, Shirou had no reply but to blink at her.

"You like Chi-chan! You like dominating women! Oh~! Houki-chan is going to be so heartbroken! To find out that the man she's starting to like is into being dominated! A little warning though Shikkun, Chi-chan can get really caught in the moment! And she's a brocon too! So don't be surprised to hear her scream 'Ichika!' in bed~!" Tabane said in one breath, and Shirou felt the onset of a migraine begin. He placed his right index finger and thumb on the bridge of his nose and rubbed it in frustration.

"Can we just get to business?" He tried to make his voice sound less pleading, and more demanding. But it failed spectacularly, as Tabane only smiled brightly at him, her bunny ears flopping up and down as she did so.

"A closet masochist! No wonder you're always seen getting stomped on by both the Edelfelt heir and the Tohsaka heir! Don't worry Houki-chan!" Tabane turned towards the bed that was right next to Chifuyu's which housed Houki's sleeping form. "I'll train you so that you'll start dominating in bed! I won't let Chi-chan beat you!" She declared with a passion.

Shirou had had enough.

Flaring his circuits, he focused intent to harm on Tabane, who tensed instantly and had jumped back because her instincts kicked in and told her so. Her eyes were slightly open, and all her previous playfulness was lost.

Shirou didn't really want to do that, but she was on a roll and showed no signs of stopping. And judging from her demeanor and way of talking, she looked like the person who would do that to annoy and to dodge the topics. It would take a firm hand to get her to focus. Shirou understood, it wasn't a persona; her playfulness was really part of her. She only allowed it to show to hide the people around her from the seriousness of the world. And though he understood she did that at her friends, so that they wouldn't find out that she was a Magus, so that they wouldn't get dragged into the dark world of Magi. They weren't friends, at least, not yet. It was just grating and annoying to him.

"Shinonono," He began with narrowed eyes, a look that Tabane mirrored. "I understand that your playfulness is a part of you, but please tone it down. We are not friends, and though you have made clear that Houki and Orimura-sensei won't be hurt by you. I still do not trust you with my life." He told her cleanly.

Neither of the two spoke. They only glared at each other, calculating and observing. They made sure not to miss either of them moving, taking note of their breaths, when they breathed in, and when they breathed out. They took notice of their twitching bodies, watching closely as each of them twitched their left thumb, or moved their right hand.

For awhile, they stayed like that. It wasn't until Tabane sighed and relaxed her body, did Shirou allow himself to do the same. Their eyes both flicked towards the other two besides them in the room, and then turned towards the other and nodded their heads. They had reached a silent consensus; they wouldn't do anything as long as the other two were in the room.

Shirou was the first one that spoke after their brief exchange. "Where's the nurse?" He asked.

"Outside. I 'convinced' her to stand by and watch for other students." Tabane replied. And Shirou knew exactly what she meant by the word 'Convinced'.

But before he could protest, Tabane shook her head. "It was a light compulsion." She explained. "I just convinced her to stand outside and wait until we're both done in here. She won't allow anyone else to enter the room until we're done talking."

Shirou nodded his head in understanding. If it was light, and would have no lasting damage, he could abide to that.

"So," Tabane began, her tone serious as she stared down at Chifuyu. She was across from Shirou, who was on the other side of Chifuyu's bed and parallel to Tabane. "First male IS pilot huh?" She said lamely, and Shirou could only nod.

"Yeah." Was Shirou's equally lame response. He didn't bother adding anything else, as he had a feeling that Tabane was going to say something else.

"That's…. surprising to say the least." Tabane said after a second of thinking, and Shirou could only raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"You sound like you were expecting someone else to be the first male pilot." He pointed out, looking up at Tabane, who also had looked up to stare at Shirou.

Tabane nodded her head. "That's because I was." She admitted. "It was supposed to be Ichika. But I didn't take into account that the White Knight core would react the way it did."

"White Knight core?" Shirou asked with a raised eyebrow. Tabane turned her head, and her ears perked up and began to project an image through the top of each ear. The images floated in the air, and each one showed a different picture. The one on the left showed an outline of an IS unit, its body in front of the sun. The image started to move, and it was only then did Shirou notice that it was a video being played. The IS began performing impossible feats in the air, twisting and turning, traveling distances that would be absurd if not for the fact that it was beyond supersonic, and parting the water as it flew just above the ocean. The video showed the power of the IS unit, and Shirou couldn't help but be in awe.

He shook his head before he turned to the other image. This one was real picture, but at the same time, it was also a blueprint. The image of the IS unit on the blueprint was the same as the one in the video in the other screen, and Shirou couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the familiar feeling he got with seeing the IS.

"Hang on," He muttered, but Tabane either didn't hear it, or chose to ignore it.

"This is White Knight, the first IS I ever made. And unlike the hulking monstrosities that are the prototypes. This one offered things that the prototypes could only dream of." Tabane spoke as if she were in a trance. "It was first dispatched to intercept 2341 missiles that targeted Japan." At her words, Shirou could only gasp in horror.

But before Shirou could demand an answer to his questions, Tabane continued. "It intercepted the missiles no problem. In fact, the White Knight was so fast that the nations that the missiles belonged to couldn't comprehend what happened until it finally finished." Tabane explained.

"Of course, this led to them panicking and sending their forces to try to get the White Knight for their own nations. 207 jet planes, 7 battle-cruisers , 5 aircraft carriers which included 2 nuclear ones, and of course, more missiles; 437 to be exact." Tabane continued, further surprising Shirou at the sheer number. "Oh, and 5 satellites." She added as an afterthought, as if it was useless information.

But of course, with his surprise, came shock and realization. "Wait," He began quietly, this time, Tabane took notice and did stop. "Don't tell me that they we-"

"Were all destroyed?" Tabane finished for him, he looked up at her and what he saw and what she said made him grit his teeth in frustration. "Yes, they were. Every last one of the interceptors were destroyed, they were either blown out of the air, or sank by the White Knight's sword."

Shirou felt his hands curl up subconsciously. He could feel his hand whitening as his fists dug into his palm. It wasn't enough to draw blood, but it was still enough to consciously make it hurt. "What happened to the pilots? The crew members?" He asked after a minute of tense silence.

Tabane's response was to snort in amusement. This was perceived wrongly by Shirou, who glared up at the purple-haired woman with anger akin to madness in his eyes. "How can you just-?!" He nearly shouted, but managed to keep his voice low enough in respect to the two other women in the room that were still unconscious.

Tabane only gave him an amused look, further angering him. But before he could rebuke her for weighing people's lives so lightly, she managed to say something that would calm him down somewhat. "None."

Almost immediately, Shirou's anger turned to confusion as he tilted his head. "What?" Was all he could say. Tabane could only giggle in response to his confusion.

"No one died, all of those planes, all of those battle-cruisers, submarines, heck, even the bases that launched the missiles were unmanned." She explained with a smile, and Shirou could only openly gape at her, unable to comprehend something so ridiculous.

"Hang on! That's impossible!" This time, Shirou's voice was really a shout. He clamped a hand on his mouth as he saw Chifuyu move slightly after he shouted, but his surprise was still clear in his eyes as he stared at Tabane.

Tabane for her part could only giggle in amusement before she further explained the reasons to the unmanned mystery. "This all started with a hacker," She explained, making Shirou look at her with raised eyebrows. "You see those 2341 missiles that targeted Japan? They were all hacked. No one knows how, no one knows who, why, and how fast. All they knew was that the hacker was the one that started the Alaska Treaty in the first place."

Shirou nodded his head in understanding. That made sense to some degree. Even though the hacker was the one that pushed for the actions of the White Knight IS, if the hacker hadn't done what they had done, the world could still very well be on its way to war on the rising usage of IS.

It made sense, but it still left a bad taste in Shirou's mouth. "That makes sense," Shirou voiced his thoughts out loud, earning a nod from Tabane. But he shot her a glare soon after. "But that's still stupid." Shirou finished, making Tabane recoil in surprise at how sharp his voice was.

"You made the White Knight right?" Shirou asked, trying to confirm his thoughts. Tabane nodded, unsure of why he wanted to confirm something that was already established. "Than the hacker didn't need to do what they did." Shirou finished, surprising Tabane at how sure he was with his words.

"Why's that Shikkun?" She asked, again, making Shirou cringe at his nickname.

"Don't call me that," He snapped, before taking a deep breath. He then fully turned towards Tabane, making sure to look into her eyes. He idly wondered what kept the bunny-ears pointing away from him, as Tabane herself had her face turned towards him, but he decided that was useless information. "Anyway, it was useless because you would have released the White Kni-!" Shirou didn't finish what he was saying, as an epiphany suddenly hit him as he was talking.

He narrowed his eyes, and clenched his teeth as he stared at Tabane. Who tilted her head in confusion at his sudden silence. "What's wrong Shikkun?" And though her body and her tilted head indicated confusion, the sheer coldness in her voice as well as the slightly narrowed eyes staring at him confirmed his suspicions.

"You were the hacker." Was all he said. This statement, along with the firmness of his voice, only made Tabane smile at him.

"What are you talking about Shikkun?" She said, placing a finger to her mouth. Though she gave out an innocent look, Shirou could see right through her act quite clearly. "Why would I do that?" She denied.

Shirou could only quietly grit his teeth in frustration. He knew what she had done, yet he couldn't prove it. So all he could do now was keep quiet, and keep listening. "…Never mind." He finally said after a moment silence.

Tabane nodded her head, her smile brighter this time. "Anyway!" She began, clapping. "There were no crew members, no pilots, and no one in the bases simply because they were all asleep!" Tabane explained, and again, Shirou could only grit his teeth.

"…You don't say." He managed to say, though it sounded more like he forced it out of his closed mouth. Tabane nodded her head.

"Yuppo! They were all asleep, in their beds, next to their wives, with their children and pets." She said with a smile, a smile that made Shirou angrier by the second just looking at it. "Pretty weird how no one remembers about that day except for the higher-ups in the countries part of the situation huh?" Tabane said with her eyes slightly open, her eyes staring at Shirou.

Shirou only nodded. "Yeah," He began grudgingly. "Weird." He finished with a small glare, a glare that was ignored by Tabane.

"Anyway, we've gone off a tangent!" Tabane said. She turned her head back to the two screens, and waved her hand over them. The two screens connected and the two images changed to a single one. This one showing a spherical object that was colored bluish white.

'_No wait, it's not bluish white, it's more like it's white glowing blue.'_ Shirou amended as he stared at the sphere. He couldn't help but sense a familiarity to it, but e couldn't quite place why until Tabane explained just what it was.

"Shikkun, Shikkun!" Tabane shouted and suddenly, a purple-haired bunny eared woman was in front of Shirou, obstructing is view of the sphere. Shirou had to take a step back as Tabane suddenly embraced him. Sending the red-haired mage into confusion.

"O-oi!" Shirou tried to get her off him, but her grip was like steel, all he could do was struggle against her arms. "Get off!"

"I'm sorry!" She suddenly shouted, surprising Shirou at the suddenness of her words. He stopped struggling, and looked down at Tabane. Who had her head buried on his chest.

"What?" He managed to say. And Tabane looked up at him, her eyes still closed, though she had a frown marring her face.

"I made a boo-boo!" She said. And again, Shirou had to tilt his head in confusion at the quirky-ness of this woman. "I didn't intend to make a mistake! Wahhh! I'm turning into an ignorant person! Help me Shikkun!" Tabane cried into Shirou's chest, making him uncomfortable as Tabane only continued to cry into his chest.

Shirou was flustered, his face sported a bright blush, and he was frozen stiff as he stared down at the crying form of Tabane. After a moment, he sighed, before he placed a hand on Tabane's back. Awkwardly patting it in silence.

After the third pat, Tabane seemed to perk up, and pushed herself away from Shirou. Further causing confusion to Shirou. Tabane gave Shirou a smile, before she stuck out her tongue in jest. "Shikkun's a good boy. No wonder Houki-chan likes you so much!" She declared before twirling around, her dress fluttering as she did so.

Shirou took a deep breath, before he turned towards Tabane again. But before he could ask what was with her sudden crying and calling herself ignorant, she explained. Her back still to Shirou.

Tabane waved her hand towards the screen that was displaying the white sphere. The screen being displayed by her bunny ears. "I was wrong with the way I showed the White Knight." She explained, making Shirou tilt his head in confusion.

"White Knight, or Shirokishi is both the IS unit, and the IS core." She explained, and the image of the sphere was suddenly next to the image of the previous IS unit that was being displayed.

"Don't get it wrong Shikkun," Tabane said, making Shirou groan at his nickname. "Shirokishi is Shirokishi, but if you take the core out of the unit, then it turns into something different." Tabane explained as she turned towards Shirou again.

Shirou hummed in response. "So in other words, the unit is named after the core?" He asked more than declared, and Tabane nodded her head.

"Yuppo!" She said with a bright smile, but before Shirou could inquire more about it, Tabane further explained the situation. "But don't get it wrong still Shikkun. If the core is replaced, the main unit is still called what the core it had been called get it?" She asked with a smile.

Shirou could only nervously nod his head in understanding. "So if the White Knight core is replaced in the White Knight unit, the unit is still called the White Knight, but is otherwise a different unit altogether?" He asked, trying to clarify what he could.

Tabane shook her head. "The first part's correct." She began before she pointed at the screen again. "But again, even if the core is replaced, the unit is still essentially the same. The only difference is the core in the first place. Nothing else if different." She explained.

"But wait," Shirou interrupted before she could get even deeper. "Why make the cores able to be replaced in the first place? If the unit will stay the same, and the core will have no impact on the unit altogether, why make the cores in the units replaceable in the first place?" Shirou asked. To which, Tabane only gave him a knowing smile.

Shirou saw her smile, and could only tilt his head in confusion. "Why are you smiling at me like that?" He asked. This only further caused Tabane's smile to widen.

"Think about it Shikkun. The Association is coming after me for combining Magic and Science to make something that tilts the balance of the world. But they never cared about the world in the first place, they only care about what makes the magic and science work together." Tabane explained.

Shirou could only squint his eyes, unable to find out what she was trying to tell him. "I still don't get it." He said as he crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes closed as he tried to figure out the reason to his question in the first place.

Tabane only smiled at him and remained silent, as if she was sure he would see it if he gave it real thought. So they stayed like that, in silence as Shirou tried to connect the dots in front of Tabane and the sleeping Chifuyu. Houki's silent breathing across the room as he continued to think.

The seconds turned into a minute. The minute turned into two, and then three. Before he finally gave up and sighed. "I really don't get it." He relented as he turned towards Tabane and gave her a look telling her that he gave up.

Tabane only kept smiling. "Okay then, I'll give you a hint." She said in a sing-song voice. "Think of the IS unit as a body. And think of the core as a memory." She said bluntly.

Shirou tilted his head in confusion, his eyebrows furrowed and his face contorted to that of further confusion. But after a few seconds of thinking, his eyes widened in realization and he opened his mouth to gasp in surprise.

"No. Fucking. Way." Was all he could say. Those were the best words he could use to properly show his surprise. And it seemed to give Tabane all the more reason to widen her smile.

"Yuppo!" She exclaimed with a bright smile, and all Shirou could really do was gape at the genius in front of him.

"You've made artificial circuits," He said softly with a pointed finger at Tabane. "And placed them in an artificial body, not only that. You've figured out a way to switch the circuits with another body so casually."

"Yup!" She said with a beaming smile. "Oh, but don't tell anyone about that last part. I don't want the Association figuring out about the last part and coming after me stronger than before." Tabane said almost as if it was an afterthought.

Shirou could only gape at the genius Tabane. Pure surprise in his face as he stared at woman in front of him. She just admitted to something that any Magus family would want. To find a way to switch a magical core, a crystallized circuit over towards another body without trouble. That was just something absurd.

No wonder Rin had a high opinion of Tabane, he couldn't imagine just what Magi would do with such knowledge.

But of course, after surprise came doubt. And he narrowed his eyes as he stared at Tabane. "Why?" He asked her the obvious question.

Tabane though, seemed intent of just playing innocent. "Why what Shikkun?" She asked, her voice high-pitched as if she were a little kid.

Shirou grit his teeth in frustration, before he finally shouted at her, unable to bear her act any longer. "Don't screw with me!"

His outburst surprised Tabane, and this seemed to spurn Chifuyu somewhat as she moved in her sleep. But Shirou didn't care, he was mad now, and he couldn't calm down unless someone told him to. "Why are you telling me all of this?! Of the cores? Of Shirokishi?" He shouted his eyes filled with anger not because he hated her, but because he was annoyed at her seemingly innocent way of saying things. "You know I'm the Wrought-Iron Magus, you know I'm related to Rin and Luvia, and you know damn well I'm a pseudo Enforcer. So why the hell are you telling me all this?!"

This seemed to spurn Tabane, as the room suddenly became several degrees colder. Shirou instinctively readied himself, placing both his hands to his side as instructed by 'Him'. He didn't Trace anything however, as that may only spurn Tabane into action. And as much as he was still angry and rage-induced, he knew that fighting here would give him nothing except the dead bodies of Chifuyu and Houki.

Tabane narrowed her eyes at seeing Shirou ready himself, but otherwise, kept up her calm façade of standing relaxed. "You ask why, yet you know what I am." She said, her voice cold and calculating as she observed the red-haired man in front of her.

Hearing her words, Shirou finally understood. He clucked his tongue in frustration, before he relaxed his hands. He pointedly glared at Tabane, anger and frustration evident in his eyes as he glared at her.

Tabane smirked at seeing him relax, but otherwise kept the Prana circulating in the air as stared back at him. "Good, you're not a complete idiot it seems."

Her instant 180 confused Shirou greatly, but otherwise, didn't let it bother him. And though his hands and arms were relaxed by his side, his circuits were still circulating Od, ready to form the two familiar blades if needed in the drop of a hat.

"I'm a Magus, that much you already know. So it stands to reason that being a Magus, I have ulterior motives." Tabane began, turning around and walking towards the other side of the room. The projected image of both the White Knight unit, and the White Knight core being passed through as she did so. Her ears turned as she walked through the image, and this allowed the image to remain unbroken.

Tabane reached the bed opposite Chifuyu's, and with her back turned, she spoke. "The reason I'm telling you this Shirou," Her voice was cold, but Shirou could detect no malevolence or enmity from it. So he just stood there, watching Tabane's back with narrowed eyes. "Is because you aren't the chosen one!" She exclaimed as she turned around. Her face showing a big bright smile.

This time, more than anger and annoyance flashed across Shirou's face.

Tabane detected the enmity coming from Shirou, and she couldn't help but sigh. "Mou~!" She uttered as she looked at Shirou. "You're no fun anymore! You were much funner when you were talking to Houki-chan!" Tabaned declared.

Shirou's response was the further increase his enmity.

Tabane sighed, before she relented. "Fine then," Her voice returned to its cold and calculating one. In turn, Shirou relented with his enmity.

"Like I said, you weren't the chosen one." Tabane insisted, but before Shirou could rebuke her to take this seriously, Tabane raised a hand to stop him. "That is the exact truth Shirou. You aren't supposed to be here, you took someone else's place and now you have to deal with the consequences." Tabane's voice was serious, and unlike her previous ones, this one was deadly sharp and calculating.

Shirou just stared at Tabane, waiting for her to continue. "I'm telling you this Shirou, because now I'm adjusting to the situation. Any self-respecting Magus can at least do that much if their plans get FUBAR." Tabane explained, her gleaming eyes cutting Shirou's own.

"Barring the White Knight incident, which has been reported before by almost all the news networks in the world. The only thing I've shared you is that the IS unit and the IS core are fundamentally the same, and that the unit is the 'body' while the core is the 'circuit'. The former being less known knowledge and the latter only known to you and me." Tabane paused, before she hummed in thought. "I've also explained what happens when the IS unit and the IS core get separated. But that was just the layman's version. I'll explain it further when I get the chance." Tabane finished as if it was an afterthought.

Shirou only glared at her. "You've still haven't explained how I fit in all this." He told her pointedly, and Tabane's response was to smile at him.

"You don't." She told him cleanly. Confusing the red-haired magus. "You honestly don't fit in any of this. But for my plans to work, I have to make you fit. And for that to happen, I need to give you incentive to stay." She told him.

"And what makes you think I'll be staying after hearing all of that?" He rebutted, steeling his face as he stared emotionlessly at Tabane. "What makes you think I won't just leave and tell the Mage's Association about your secrets?" He asked her, and this made Tabane chuckle lightly.

"For one?" She began. "I'll just chase you down and kill you if you do." She said with mirth in her eyes, but Shirou didn't see what was amusing with her statement. "Another reason is that you may have the general knowledge of what I did and what they do. But you have no idea how to reproduce them. And I have a feeling that you're not one to do a job half-heartedly." Tabane declared.

For a few seconds, Shirou didn't react, only blinking in response to Tabane. But finally, he let out a sigh. "You're right on both accounts." He relented. "And though I doubt you can really chase me down and kill me, I really don't do anything half-heartedly. Now that you've revealed that much, I'll have to keep digging." He told her straightly, and this caused Tabane to smile at him.

Before Tabane could speak up once more however, Shirou interrupted with his own voice. "But you do know I'm going to have to reveal what you've told me right?" He said with narrowed eyes, he tensed his body, readying himself for any violent reactions to come from Tabane.

To his surprise (again, this must have been a new record for him.), Tabane only laughed and shook her head. "I have no problems with that Shikkun!" She declared, and again, Shirou had to grimace at the nickname. "You are after all, a lap-dog."

Shirou once more placed his right thumb and forefinger on the bridge of his nose and rubbed it in frustration. "Damn it Rin." Was all he said as he felt his headache going away.

Tabane saw this and let out a small smile. "But with that said Shirou," She began in her serious tone, and Shirou had to straighten himself in response to her seriousness. "I mentioned incentive didn't I?" She asked him, and Shirou could only nod in response.

"Good." Tabane said as she moved towards Shirou, a slight skip in her step. Shirou readied himself, unsure whether Tabane was going to attack, or just pass by him. To his astonishment however, as Tabane passed the image of the core and the unit called Shirokishi, she help out her hand and passed it over the image of the core. A shimmer of light later, and after she passed it, she had in her hands the very core in the image she had projected.

"W-wha-?" Shirou uttered, but couldn't say anymore as Tabane stopped in front of him and grabbed his hand and placed the core in it.

"Here it is Shikkun! Take good care of it m'kay?" Tabane's voice was light, and Shirou could only stare at the core, dumbfounded at being given something so precious, so valuable. He was so surprised that he couldn't look away from the white core emanating the blue aura. He could hear Tabane chuckling, but he still didn't look up from it.

"Consider it part of your incentive. I'll get to work on the latter part of it later. But for now, you hold on to it." Tabane declared, and Shirou finally reacted. Though weakly, he raised his head and gave Tabane a questioning look.

"Latter part?" He managed to say in a soft voice. Tabane only nodded her head.

"Yuppo!" She said with a bright smile. "You have a death coming up right Shikkun? Against a IS Representative Candidate with a personal IS unit?" She asked, and Shirou could only blindly nod. The thought that Houki and he had been eavesdropped on didn't register on his mind at all.

"Then I'll have to make sure you survive!" Tabane declared. "So I'll be making you a persona IS with the Shirokishi core!"

For the umpteenth time, Shirou was honestly surprised at the circumstances he found himself in. And again, he could only react with a single uttered word.

"What?"

Tabane could only laugh at his surprised face.

**XxX**

"And that's basically it." Shirou said through the phone transceiver. He could hear the person on the end of the line hum in thought.

"_Wow, I knew she was eccentric. But to give you that much information after you just met is absurd."_ Rin's voice sounded from the other end. And Shirou could only sigh in acceptance.

"Yeah tell me about it." Shirou sighed. "It's amazing she managed to hack into the mainframe of the Academy actually. She said that she can't afford to be known that she's here. The only people who know that she's here are Orimura-sensei, Houki, and me." Shirou explained. And again, he could hear Rin hum in thought from the other end of the line.

"_Wait, you said only three of you know that she's there. Barring the hypnotized nurse, how can she possibly avoid the other women in the Academy. You were carrying two women with you, and she was walking leisurely right next to you from what you said."_ A pause, and Shirou had to raise an eyebrow at Rin's question. _"Don't tell me she managed to avoid getting seen? Does she have a sort of cloaking device on her?" _Rin mumbled from across the line. And again, Shirou could only remove the phone from his ear and stare at it in wonder.

Shaking his head, he placed the phone back to his head and spoke. "Rin, she used compulsion, like I do." He stated in a hushed tone as he looked around. But although his voice was hushed and soft, that didn't stop it from sounding blunt.

"…_.."_ For a few seconds, there was no reply from the other side of the line, prompting Shirou to raise an eyebrow.

"Hello? Rin? You still there?" He asked. But got no reply. He was about to try again, but the sudden clicking and beeping right after told him all that was needed.

He pulled the phone transceiver away from his ear and gave it an incredulous look. "…Did she just hang up on me?" He asked no one in particular.

He sighed, before he placed the transceiver back on the main body. He waited for two seconds, before he picked it up and dialed his home phone number once more. He sighed as it began to ring once more, but otherwise, waited patiently in the empty administration building.

After the third ring, someone picked up the phone on the other end, but it wasn't Rin. As Rin's voice could be heard in the background. _"-at stupid inconsiderate jerk!"_ Shirou had to pull back the transceiver from his ear as the shout was rather loud.

"Hello? Rin?" He began as he placed the phone back on his ear. He took the time to look around the admin building once more, trying to get Rin's screaming out of his mind as he talked on the phone.

"_I don't want to talk to that jerk!" "Now Rin, I think you're being completely unfair to Shirou, after all-" "I don't care!" _Those were the words that he could hear from the other end of the line, and he couldn't resist sighing. Much as he tried to ignore Rin's shouting and Rider's placating voice, he really couldn't. After almost a year with Rin overseas, Rin's shouting became something to fear for him. Because after the shouting, came the hitting. And after the hitting, came the bruises.

But before the bruises… Never mind. The bruises still hurt.

"Rider, you there?" He began, and he could hear a sigh from the other end of the line.

"_Yes Shirou, I'm here." _Rider's mature voice sounded from the other end. He could just hear her rolling her eyes as Rin's tirade continued in the background. _"Mou, the first call back from the Academy and you get Rin so riled up. I hope it doesn't involve another girl."_ Rider's teasing voice sounded from the other end, and Shirou had to sigh.

"Actually, it is." He breathed out the words, his eyebrow twitching slightly as he did so.

"_Oh?"_ Rider's voice sounded from the other end of the receiver, sounding darker and colder. _"Are you telling me that you called Rin, to tell her that you're dumping her?"_ Rider's voice turned several degrees colder, and though Shirou was several hundred kilometers away from her, Shirou couldn't stop himself from shivering.

"W-wait, hang on Ri-" He tried to stop anymore misunderstandings, but Rider was having none of it.

"_So if you're dumping Rin, then I assume you're dumping me as well?"_ Rider's voice asked, but before Shirou could rebuke her, she continued. _"And what about Sakura hmm? Are you leaving her as well?"_ Rider's voice was now something akin to a snowstorm in Antarctica, and Shirou really couldn't help but start shivering even more.

"Wa-wait hang on Rider!" He tried frantically, but again, Rider was having none of it.

"_I can't believe you Shirou, after all we've been through." _Rider's voice sounded hurt, and Shirou couldn't help it, he just stared at the transceiver with an open mouth. _"B-but if that's how it is. I hope you'll live a good life. Goodbye Shirou."_

And for the second time that day, Shirou was hung up on, left with a confused face that bordered on annoyed.

He put down the phone, waited two more seconds, before he picked it up once more. He dialed his home number again, and waited patiently for an answer.

The first ring wasn't even done, and it was already answered. _"Hello Emiya residence. This is Rider speaking."_

"Rider." Shirou began.

"_Oh Shirou! What a nice surprise! How's life with your new woman?" _Rider's voice was teasing, and Shirou couldn't help but smack his forehead.

"Rider." He called her name again, his tone even and flat. But still, Rider seemed intent on teasing him.

"_Oh Shirou! Why are you calling now! I was just about to get over you, but with you calling I don't think I can!" _He could practically see Rider smiling down at him with a bright smile.

"Rider." He tried again, but still Rider persisted.

"_Ohh, Shirou!" _She practically moaned, but this didn't stop Shirou's eyes from continually twitching. _"If you call my name again, I don't think I can hold it! You have someone else, and I would hate if I was the cause of her pain!"_

"Rider…" Shirou sighed, his voice resigned. "You've been hanging around Sakura and Rin too much." Shirou stated with a flat voice. He could hear Rider giggle from across the line.

"_Sorry,"_ She amended before coughing. _"Okay, I'll be serious now."_ Rider said, and Shirou could only sigh in relief.

"Well, I needed to talk to Rin, but I assume that she still doesn't want to talk to me?" He asked her.

"_Your assumption is correct." _Rider voiced from the other end. _"She has taken to the living room where I can still hear her shouting and throwing things."_ Rider reported, and Shirou could only sigh.

"Well, just make sure she doesn't destroy anything that we'll need." Shirou amended after a moment of thought. "And since you're on the line right now. How are those two?" He asked Rider, and he could hear Rider humming in thought on the other end.

"_They're fine,"_ She said. _"They've been a little depressed ever since you left, but otherwise they're fine."_ A moment of pause, before Rider spoke up once more. _"How about you? From the sound of Rin's tantrum, it looks like she missed something obvious again."_

Shirou could only laugh sheepishly. "Ah, yeah." He began. "Just a little mix up with basic magic. Nothing to worry yourself over." Shirou explained.

"_That wasn't the question Shirou."_ Rider chided from the other end of the line, and again, Shirou found himself sighing.

"Nothing gets past you huh?" He said with a small smile, a smile that he was sure Rider could imagine from the other end of the line.

"_You know me Shirou,"_ And just like Rider, he could practically see her smirking at him. _"Now talk, what's got you calling us so soon? I don't need to go there do I?"_ Rider asked.

"No, it hasn't escalated to that, at least not yet." Shirou said. "It's just that, Bunny-fu-fu is here." He reported, and he imagined Rider suddenly sitting up straight at hearing that piece of news.

"_Does she know?"_ Rider asked the obvious question, and Shirou smirked slightly.

"Of course she does. In fact, she had a little talk with me awhile ago. I just reported to Rin what she told me." He explained to Rider. He could hear Rider hum in thought at his news, but otherwise, kept quiet. He could faintly hear the voice of Rin since the phone was out by the hallway next to the living room. She was talking to someone, most likely Sakura, but she wasn't shouting anymore. So that was a good sign that she had calmed down somewhat.

For a few more seconds, Rider kept silent, and so did he. There was nothing to talk about since Rin would be explaining to her what he had reported in the first place, and there was no need to check up on his status since she knew that he could watch himself just fine.

But finally, Rider responded with a hum. Shirou could just imagine her nodding her head. _"Be careful then Shirou. You know what she can do."_ Rider said, and Shirou had to nod his head.

"Yeah, I know." He said with a smile. Though he knew that the warning was something trivial, it was still nice to know she had his health in mind.

Pausing for a second, Shirou finally shrugged before he asked a question that was unneeded. "What about you?" He asked Rider, and this seemed to get the predicted response of Rider humming in response. "Are you okay? Rin and Sakura aren't giving you problems?" He asked her, though he very well knew the answer to that question.

"_Oh?"_ Rider's voice turned towards the sultry, and Shirou had to sigh. He _was_ asking for it with that question. _"Are you worried about me Shirou?_ She asked, the question rolling off her tongue.

Shirou had to shake his head. "Of course I am." He answered bluntly. Stunning the person on the other end of the line.

"_I-I wh-wha-?"_ Was Rider's response, and Shirou had to sigh.

"I know just how much of a handful Rin can be. That goes the same for Sakura. Don't make me mention Fuji-nee. If you bring all three of them in a room together, well, you can just imagine how much trouble they can get into." Shirou began, recalling the number of times the three people in his mind could get into trouble. Sakura didn't really need to be on the list of troublesome persons, but giving her recent confidence boost, and taking up some of Rin's abrasive personality, well, everyone has a breaking point if they have to look after all three women at the same time.

"So I'll ask again Rider," Shirou's voice was cool. "Are you okay? No problems at home?" He asked, and this time, he got a solid answer.

"_Y-yeah."_ Rider coughed to regain her composure. _"Nothing much is happening, Rin and Sakura get along just fine. And Fujimura has been frequenting the place less frequently now that you have left for the Academy."_ She reported, making Shirou frown.

"Rider…" Shirou said exasperated. "I asked about you, not about Rin, about Sakura, and especially about Fuji-nee. God knows she can take care of herself… sometimes." He added as an afterthought.

Again, he was met with silence from the other end, and Shirou had to wonder if he had been hung up on once more. But Rider's voice told him that wasn't the case. _"I'm fine Shirou. Thank you for asking."_ Rider's voice held a little affection in it, and Shirou couldn't help but smile.

"That's good." He said in response. And again, there was a moment of silence. But this silence was companionable, even though they were talking to each other on the phone.

He heard the faint sound of door sliding open on the other side of the line, and Shirou could only raise an eyebrow. Before he could ask what was wrong, Rin's loud voice sounded from the other end. _"Let me talk to him Rider."_

Shirou noted the seriousness in Rin's voice, and he could only stare at the phone in front of him grimly.

"_You heard her Shirou,"_ Rider's voice sounded from the other end. And Shirou forced a smile on his face.

"Yeah, take care Rider." He said to her, and again, he could just imagine Rider smiling at him.

"_Same goes to you Shirou. Don't do anything I wouldn't do okay?" _Rider told him. He was about to respond, but he heard the phone being passed to Rin. It was apparent that Rider didn't need to hear his answer. And he had to smile at the trust she had in him.

"_Shirou," _Rin's morose voice sounded from the other end. Shirou straightened his body as he heard it.

"Yeah, I know." He told her immediately. He knew exactly where her trail of thought was going, he had heard that voice before, and he didn't need to know what she was going to say to him next because it was engraved into his mind.

There was a pause, and then he could hear Rin snort in response. _"Looks like you really do know what you're supposed to do."_ Rin said from across the line, and Shirou could only smile.

"Of course I do, you were the one that kept telling me to be careful and to come back alive every time I go on an Apostle hunt." Shirou reminded, and again, he could just imagine the other person's face at his words. In Rin's case, a pout.

"_Since when did you start talking back to me?"_ She sounded annoyed, but he could feel her affection even from here.

"Since the time you've been telling me to get back unscathed." He answered truthfully, and again, he could just see her frown at his answer.

"_Ugh,"_ He heard her sigh. _"Whatever. Just don't die okay? We barely know anything about Shinonono's plan, and you're just going through it blind. This isn't something we can plan on since we have no knowledge whatsoever, so being careful is something that has to be emphasized."_ Rin's voice was growing increasingly louder, indicating her nervousness and apprehensiveness.

"Yeah, I know Rin. No need to remind me." He told her, trying to alleviate some of her tension. But still Rin persisted, her tone not letting off as she continued to speak and tell him what he should and shouldn't do.

"_Keep in mind Shirou, that you need to keep an eye on her as she works on your IS. If you can, be in the same room as her when she does work on it., skip sleeping and eating if you have to. Just keep an eye on her. And your match, you should also get to practicing controlling an IS. I heard that the mass produced version in the Academy is a good starting point, don't wait for your IS to finish as you don't want to-"_

"Rin." He stopped her, and thankfully, she stopped talking. He took a deep breath, before he allowed a smile to appear on his face. A smile that Rin would have smacked him on top of the head for. "I got it. I'll be careful. For all of you." He said with a smile.

He was met with silence on the other end of the phone, and once again. He thought he had been hung up on, but he was proven wrong again by Rin's sudden huffing.

"_I-idiot. There's no need to tell me that. I know you'll be careful. I was just telling you what you should do for the optimal results."_ Rin said, and Shirou could just imagine her crossing her arms across her chest and looking away from him.

Shirou could only just smile.

"_Anyway, when you get the chance, I'll take a look at the core that you were given. From the way you told me about Shinonono, she seems intent on dangling bait right in front of you." _Rin said.

"Yeah," Shirou agreed. "Whatever Tabane has planned, it's obvious that its something big. She seems like the manipulative type. Her eccentric personality notwithstanding." Shirou said with a small grimace.

"_It doesn't matter if she's eccentric. The point is she's like another Caster."_ Rin stated the obvious, and again, Shirou could not help but agree with Rin's output.

"I know," Shirou began. "But that's the problem. For all her manipulations, all her calculations, and all her personas, she acts just like you." Shirou stated, and this earned him a hum of annoyance coming from Rin.

"_Just what is that supposed to mean?!"_ Rin shouted from the phone, and Shirou couldn't help but wince and pull the phone away from his ear.

"Don't shout like that, my ear was right next to the phone." Shirou chided before he sighed. He raised his left hand and scratched the back of his head. "And I meant it, she's just like you." Shirou stated again, further causing Rin annoyance.

"_And how is she like me?"_ Rin's voice sounded annoyed, and Shirou could only sigh. Usually it was hard to deal with Rin when she got like this, but thankfully, his blunt personality and observations usually helped when the situation was true to an extent.

"I mean it," Shirou amended. "You may not be as manipulative as to use the innocent lives of people, and you may not be as eccentric as her, but you're just like her. You won't hesitate to use someone else, someone capable for your plans, and then when your plans go awry, you find a way to fix it using your own powers. Never mind asking for help, it was your plan, and you're the only one that should fix it. And let's face it Rin, being close to Zelretch really didn't help your abrasive personality." Shirou explained.

For a few seconds, Rin didn't say anything. And Shirou was afraid she really did hang up on him again, but Rin's sudden voice calmed him somewhat. _"I see…"_ He heard Rin say tentatively.

"Anyway Rin," Shirou began, trying to diffuse whatever thoughts Rin was having. He didn't care if it were thoughts of killing him, or torturing him, or even hugging him. But whatever thoughts she was having, he should clear it up before she followed through with it. "I'll be counting on you. You're the only one I trust to let both Emiya and Shirou separate in the Clock Tower. I'll try and send you the core when I can, though I doubt I can since its Tabane's. If I can't, I'll try and report daily, or every two days." Shirou finished, and Rind didn't respond other than humming.

For awhile, neither of them spoke. It wasn't until the sounding of the bell did Shirou finally look up at the clock above him. "Oh." He managed to say.

"_What's wrong?"_ Rin's voice sounded from across the line. And Shirou had to sigh in response.

"I didn't notice the time. I need to go soon, I already skipped one period talking to Tabane, and now I'm missing the second period after lunch." He explained hastily.

"_Oh, okay then. Keep in mind what I told you okay Shirou? I'll keep an ear out on my end, I'll report to you if the Clock Tower asks for you." _Rin told him once more, and Shirou could only nod his head. Though the action was obviously lost to the person across the line.

"Yeah, yeah." He said dismissively. "Anyway, I gotta go. Say hi to Sakura for me, and tell her sorry that I couldn't talk to her. Tell Rider and Sakura about what I told you okay?" He said in finality before he placed the phone down, not waiting for a response.

He glanced up at the clock, and sighed. There was only ten more minutes before the afternoon class would end, and he doubted if he would be welcomed by the teacher for being this tardy.

So with another sigh, he decided to just visit the two other people that knew that Tabane was here. He had excused himself from the room after his little talk with Tabane, and went straight for the public phones to report. Thankfully, afternoon classes had already started by then, and the hallway was devoid of people. No one had noticed him, and he doubted anyone would eavesdrop on him since all the students were in the classrooms. There was the person behind the counter, but she was busy with her paperwork and barely look up from her work.

So with light steps, he went back towards the nurse's office. Intent on waiting for Houki and Chifuyu to wake up. Hopefully, Tabane wasn't there, as he didn't want to be in the same room as her anymore than he needed to.

**XxX**

"Hmm," Tabane hummed in thoght as she cut off the connection to her little planted piece on Shirou. It was simply matter placing it on him, he was easily flustered, and though he was a strong Magus with a strong background. The rumors of the Wrought-Iron Magus being third-rate seemed to be correct.

The little item she had planted on him was easy enough to hide. It was a small bunny-shaped bug. She had placed the thing on Shirou when she had hugged him. Of course, she wasn't one to just allow it to be seen and noticed. So with a bit of magic, she was able to disguise its existence as part of his clothes. It was also one of her more complex inventions, a combination of an audio recorder, as well as a small Prana storage battery, it was something complex, but at the same time stealthy.

"It looks like Shikkun really is a lap-dog." Tabane ammended as she closed her eyes and cut off the connection she had with the bug. She wasn't concerned in the slightest if he would detect it or not, as it would steadily decompose itself into the air. It's excess Prana would burn it out decompose it from the inside out.

"Oh well," Tabane shrugged as she swung her legs under the chair she was sitting on. In front of her, was the bed of her sister. Houki Shinonono. She hadn't left the room ever since Shirou had excused himself. And as much as she wanted to get started on the new IS for the first ever Magus that could pilot an IS, her sister came first. "I'll just have to keep a closer eye on him from now on. He seems like he has more brawn than brains anyway. Though his past is something I want to look over, that part about being a hypocrite and a distorted man is something that no one should be able to say to readily without seeing something really traumatic." Tabane hummed in thought before she glanced down at her sister's sleeping form.

Tabane smiled at seeing her sleep so peacefully. "You look so peaceful Houki-chan." Tabane hummed as she leaned forward and brushed Houki's hair away from her face in an affectionate gesture. "It's a good thing you were born second. I'd hate for you to take up the responsibilities of being a Magus." Tabane said in a soft tone.

"Don't worry," Tabane began in an affectionate tone. "You might not be the heir of this family, but I'll give you something you can be proud of. You just have to wait awhile okay?" Tabane said with a smile.

And so Tabane stayed there, looking down at her sister with an affectionate smile. She didn't look up as Shirou entered the room, and she just waited for her sister to wake up alongside the first Magus that was able to use an IS unit.

**XxX**

**Hmm. Dialogue heavy. I should add a warning on top.**

**Anyway, now we get the world building, and a some hints on Shirou's past. Also, Tabane as both a Magus, a scientist, and a 'bunny'. Yeah. She's not that hard a character to write after I segregated each personality quirk from her.**

**Apologies to the ones asking for the fight, but that won't happen yet. It'll happen in the next two or three chapters. But the next chapter will be about Shirou's IS, and his interactions with the Shinonono sisters as well as Chifuyu and Cecilia.**

**A little note, I'm not trying to bash Cecilia, but she was honestly like that when she first debuted. And honestly, I don't see why she suddenly liked Ichicka just because he could have killed her but didn't. And though this will be what I'll be doing with Shirou and Cecilia, Cecilia won't be all 'oh I love him!' after the fight because of that. I have a couple more plot points that I'll reveal in the next chapter that will hopefully add depth to Cecilia other than the 'I was spared so I must love him' kind of personality.**

**And hot damn, this chapter was a lot longer than I expected it to be. Though granted, I was trying to blend the two worlds somewhat. That isn't the end of it. All we really know is that the unit and the core are the same. And that the unit is the body, and the core is the circuit, or more generally, the crystallized crests.**

**Also this chapter was more about Shirou somewhat bonding with Tabane. We also get to see (hear) Rider and Rin.**

**Hmm, maybe I'll revise this chapter if people find it useless, but to me. It's just enough to keep the plot going, and enough to set up the plot even more.**

**I do have another scene that I removed entirely from this chapter, and I'm thinking of adding it as an Omake. But probably not. It was a useless scene, and didn't have any impact at all in this chapter, so now, if I do make it an Omake, it will be more humorous than serious in contrast to the original.**

**Anyway, that's it for this AN. Again, I'll say thanks. Hot damn people. So many favs, follows, and reviews again. It's amazing.**

**Oh, and as for Shirou not knowing about the White Knight incident, before any of you point this out. Read that part again. You'll see why he didn't know about it in the first place. Hint: Tabane said something about higherups.**

**And also, this is gonna be a bitch to edit. lels. :P**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	7. I, You, We, are humans

**Disclaimer: If I owned this, I wouldn't be making a disclaimer.**

***Is glared at by the hungry lawyers.**

**Okay! I'll say it! Jeez. I own nothing. Bunch a lousy ass-**

***Glaring intensifies.**

…**I'll just shut up now.**

**Hmm. I don't know what will finish first, but in all honesty, if this does finish first. I apologize to those waiting for Zero Night. But don't fret, it will get done.**

**Also. I've got multiple reviews that keep telling me this is not how Shirou would do things, how he would react, and how he would be talking. Heck, one reviewer even said this isn't how Shirou is supposed to wake up.**

**I'll be honest here. I've warned you people that this Shirou is not the titular Shirou. Yet either they choose to ignore it, or just don't want to see it. Now I get it, he won't react that way to that kind of situation, and just changing the situation in the Grail War might not change him much. But in this fic, it is enough to change him enough. Now, how does this happen? I'll give you guys a gimmie because I'm afraid that even after three warnings, three very clear warnings that this isn't the regular Shirou, that they will continue to pester me because they don't like it.**

**Firstly, he has a different combat teacher. This teacher is the least likeliest to teach him anything save for dodging and running from their killing blows. They thought him how to survive, and they also showed him his path to ruin. That is all I'm telling you.**

**Secondly, and this is the last one. Someone died. Died in the most horrible, horrific, jarringly scarring way imaginable, and Shirou could do nothing about it.**

**That's all I'm willing to reveal, if you guys are going to tell me that it's still not enough… Well, feel free to PM me so I can send you what you want to know. But as of right now, Shirou is still Shirou, just not the Shirou you know. This Shirou is jaded, and through the year, he had made a reputation in the Clock Tower as the Edelfelt butler/Tohsaka apprentice, and as the Second Magus Killer called the Wrought-Iron Magus. Keep in mind though; he isn't always at the Clock Tower. He still has school in Fuyuki, and he isn't willing to leave that. But due to events that I'm not willing to share as of right now, he had to stop going to the Clock Tower and just focus on his schooling. Now, that was all well and good, but due to the fact that an IS reacted to him made his plans go crazy. This event is what had forced Rin to come back to Japan to talk to him.**

**I hope that clears up some things. Oh wait, does that sound remotely like In Flight? How Shirou had to flee the Clock Tower, etc etc? Well, kudos to you. It does sound like it, but I assure you. That is all the similarities that I'm willing to do. And again. This is not UBW Shirou m'kay? Even though I love the route to tears and can't stop praising Ufotable for the amazing job they're doing with the current series. It is not UBW.**

**I'm going to address something else as well. About Tabane underestimating Shirou. True, she may not treat him as an immediate threat, but she knows just enough to regard him as someone that she really should keep an eye on. It was mentioned in the last chapter, but I'm going to repeat this. Shirou beat three dead apostles at the same time, while they were having a resonance. Doesn't sound much? Then you don't know Nasuverse. To put things in perspective, think of one Dead Apostle as a special forces team. Complete with the most advanced technology that money can afford. But even that wouldn't do a Dead Apostle justice. Maybe two or three special forces team with eight members, meaning 16 to 24 Special forces members worth is a Dead Apostle. Now with the Resonance with another Dead Apostle, it is doubled. So 16 is turned to 32, and 24 is turned to 48. And that is just one Dead Apostle. Add in another with the first one, and you get 64 or 96 special forces members. Sounds fearsome right? Now add in another Dead Apostle that is resonating with the both of them. 16 turns to 48, and 24 turns to 72 for just one Dead Apostle. Now with three, you get either 144 or 216 special forces members. That's equal to a small army with advanced teamwork tactics, as well as solid singular combat. And even then, I'm making it sound like they can be dealt with mundane means. Dead Apostles, even just one, are notoriously hard to take down because of their curse of immortality. They regenerate when they're dying or are dead. And Shirou took down three of them at the same time while they are resonating with each other**

**Don't get me started on Dead Apostle Ancestors. Also ghosts and spirits. Especially the aliens. Particularly the Types. And yes, that includes the ORT. It ALWAYS includes the ORT. Hmm… I wonder who would win though, DAA number 1, or ORT.**

**Of course, there are certain conditions to how that had happened But right now, you guys need to figure out that Tabane isn't underestimating Shirou, and the same goes with Shirou as well. They are merely observing each other, trying to discern what the other will do. If anything, you guys are underestimating Tabane. It was noted in the novels that Tabane can only be faced by Chifuyu, who is regarded as the best pilot in the IS world. And though Chifuyu can face Tabane, there was no indication that Chifuyu could beat Tabane. Yes. That's right, the best pilot in the world may not be enough to beat Tabane.**

**Just trying to put things to perspective here. No need to get any knickers in knots. If you're going to react violently to this AN, pm me. Do not review if all you're going to talk about is the AN. Reviewing is reserved for the chapter. Not to discuss the author's personal thoughts.**

**Also, Houki is both socially inept, and extremely stubborn. Kind of like Shirou in some regards. So the roundabout conversation is like that simply because that is how two people with the same personality traits yet differing views will talk to each other. It's not meaningless, but it isn't as useful as advancing the plot either. But still, it's there for a good reason. Mainly to add some companionship between characters. This applies to Tabane and Chifuyu as well.**

**XxX**

Two days. It had been two days since she had accepted that death match with the one called Shirou Emiya. She hadn't seen him in that time, not in the classroom, nor in the hallway. He had been absent for two days, and honestly, she wasn't sure if she should be thankful for that fact, or angry.

For two days she hadn't seen him, yet those two days had also been miserable for her.

From her classmates, to her schoolmates, heck, even the teachers were giving him looks of disdain. It was disconcerting for her. The only ones that weren't giving her the stink-eye were Orimura-sensei, Houki, and the assistant homeroom teacher Maya-sensei. All the others were looking at her with disdain, and whispering behind her back.

From the looks they were giving her, it had looked like she had killed someone. And from the words they used as she walked past them in the hallway, trying to whisper but obviously leaving their voices loud enough to reach her ears, she was someone loathsome as she would gladly kill those weaker than her.

Cecilia Alcott took all those stares and whispers in false stride.

She didn't let it show that it was hurting her, and she wouldn't back down no matter how much they asked her to. And if she was asked why she didn't want to back down, why she would gladly kill someone obviously below her, and obviously looking for their death. She would answer with confidence and no hesitation.

"He was the one that asked for it."

It may have sounded petty, sounded low for someone that was supposed to be higher than the rest. But to her, Shirou Emiya's condition wasn't just a challenge to her honor, to her piloting skills. But it was also an opportunity.

It was an opportunity to show everyone that men were useless, that they were all pieces of the old world. Women dominated this world because of the IS, and she would be damned if she would allow herself to leave an opportunity like this.

True, from another perspective her way of dealing with this was hypocritical. She refused to lower herself to a man's level, yet here she was, responding to a man's challenge. But to her, it was more than that, ,ore than her honor and more than her own beliefs. It was a chance, a chance to show the world what she saw in men, their uselessness, their contemptuous behavior in regards to the women, and their attitude in regards to anyone stronger than them.

It was a chance to show the world what she saw.

She wasn't wrong, she was far from wrong. If anyone was wrong, it was him for offering her a chance to show everyone just how useless he was. His bravado might give him the image of someone strong. But she knew better. After all, bravado was only good if you could back it up with actions.

And that was the clincher, he didn't show any actions to show if he could back up his words. He was all talk, and no actions. The typical attitude of someone useless.

So she wouldn't back down. She would show him, show them, just how useless bravado is. She wouldn't kill him, no; she wouldn't lower herself to that level. She'll just embarrass him, than show him how his bravado will get him killed in this world. She hated men like him, always talking big, and never giving any thought to what happens after they can't make due to their empty promises.

She hated that. She hated Shirou Emiya for that. And she hated her father for that.

She shook her head from that thought. And though the action would garner attention as she was in the middle of the hallway, she didn't care. She didn't want to think about her father. Not now, and not ever again.

"_Don't worry my sweet daughter. I'll protect her."_

Cecilia grit her teeth as the memory that was related to her father entered her mind. Every time her father entered her mind, that memory would always come forth, and she hated that memory.

"_Listen to him Cecilia," _She remembered _her_ words. _Her _sweet smiling face looking down at her as she picked up her bags, her father doing the same. _"He's strong. He won't be entirely useless."_

She remembered the teasing tone _she_ had used, and how her father laughed at that joke. And then they both turned around, exiting the manor, leaving her alone.

That would be the last time she would ever trust a man's word. And of course, that would also be the last time she saw _her._

Again Cecilia shook her head clear. _'No, now's not the time to remember.'_ She thought as she resumed her walk down the hallway. The whispers and stares pointedly ignored as she did so.

She grit her teeth as the memory kept replaying in her mind. The smile, the promise of her father, and how he failed that promise not a week later. It was annoying to keep remembering it, and yet, she couldn't very well forget it.

She hoped for a distraction, something to take her mind away from those thoughts. Even her upcoming death match couldn't keep her mind off that memory.

Her prayers were answered as a wave of women suddenly ran past her, brushing her shoulders as they did so.

She didn't fall, and thought it was rude for the women to have brushed past her like that; it was an easily ignorable offense. Yet, the looks of excitement in the faces of the women running past her piqued her interest. And the words they were shouting served to further her interest.

"Come on!" She heard one of the women running shout, the woman's shoulder length brown hair waving as she ran fast, calling any other women that would listen to her. "You gotta see what's happening at the archery range!"

Cecilia raised an eyebrow, but decided that this was the distraction she was waiting for. So without much aplomb, she followed the running women. Thankfully, the archery range wasn't that far from the hallway she was currently walking down on. It was just to the right of the end of the hallway anyway.

So, picking up her pace so she wouldn't lose the running women, she followed. Her interest increasing as her steps increased in speed.

Turning right, she was surprised to see the number of women crowding the entrance of the Archery range. They were all pushing and shouting, as they tried to enter to see whatever it was inside. And oddly enough, the shouting and the pushing would stop every other second, only to increase a few seconds later, louder and more rowdy than the previous one.

Cecilia tilted her head at the strange sight, before she shrugged her shoulders and walked towards the crowd. If the crowd could get this excited over something, than she may as well see what it was.

As she approached the crowd of girls, they were again, suddenly growing quiet. Only to erupt in shouts and cheers a few seconds later. It was a disconcerting picture, of that there was no doubt.

But what was even more disconcerting for Cecilia, was when some of the women in the crowd saw her, they all started whispering, and then pointing at her. And as she finally reached the crowd, they parted to let her through, their eyes scanning her as they stopped watching whatever they were watching, in favor of letting her through.

No, they weren't letting her through, they were just avoiding her. Stepping aside as she walked through the crowd.

Suppressing the pang of sadness welling up in her, Cecilia decided to just keep walking through the parting crowd. She had already started towards the Archery range, and she might as well see what the women were so excited about.

She had finally made her way to the front of the crowd, and what she saw made her curiosity turn somewhat to a dour feeling.

THUNK!

She heard the arrow hit from all the way here, and in all honestly, she was impressed. She had seen him draw that arrow, and she had seen him release it two second after pulling it back. The arrow flew for a second, before it landed in the middle of several other arrows in the middle of a bull-eye. Cecilia faintly wondered if it was possible to hit another arrow straight down the middle because of the number of arrows that were embedded on the target.

Cecilia was snapped out of her thoughts as she saw him inhale deeply, before he placed his hands to his waist, his bow held outward as he did so.

Deciding that this show wasn't something that interested her, she decided to just leave. Cecilia turned around to remove herself from the crowd, but she was stopped by the sudden clapping erupting from her back.

She turned around and was surprised to see some of the girls in front of her clapping and cheering. She raised her head, and was even more surprised to see him just ignoring the clapping. In fact, he looked like he didn't hear it at all.

The only reaction he seemed to show was to breathe out, and place his bow down before picking up a nearby quiver, and going out into the range. The cheering increased in volume as he walked towards his target, yet still, he didn't notice, or he didn't care at all. He only continued to walk towards his target, before plucking each and every arrow he had shot and putting it into his quiver.

She idly wondered how many arrows there were, from the look of things, he had been there for quite sometime, just aiming and shooting. And the way he was carefully plucking them from the target showed that he was careful not to snap them in two. It showed finesse, control, as well as patience as he removed each and every arrow with a delicate hand.

Cecilia shook her head clear from that useless thought. Whatever, if he can't appreciate the people cheering for him, then he doesn't deserve it… Why was she even thinking about this? She couldn't care less even if she wanted to. Yet, for some strange reason, she found her legs moving back towards the Archery range. She found her body twisting to make sure it fit in the gap that the women in front of her were giving. And she found herself walking towards him, not at all caring about the number of people watching.

He seemed to notice her finally as she stood in the place where he had been shooting. His face seemed to contort to that of confusion, before he tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows. "Can I help you Alcott?"

No honorifics. She huffed at the thought, the least he could do was talk to her courteously. "Where have you been Emiya?" If he wasn't going to give her respect, she wouldn't also.

She noticed him raise an eyebrow. "What?" He asked, his voice sounding confused.

She just huffed before she brushed her hair away from her face. "I asked you where you have been Emiya. You've missed two and a half days worth of classes. Even Houki-san doesn't know where you are. And you're supposed to be her roommate." She declared, and she allowed a small smirk of satisfaction to appear on her face as she saw him pale slightly.

She saw him dart his eyes from her, and over towards the crowd behind her. Good, it looks like he knew that she was in control.

"Can you not talk about that Alcott-san?" He asked politely, and she couldn't help but smirk. She was in control now, and so long as she was, she would milk this for all its worth. Though she didn't want to resort to blackmailing him, it was good that he was showing respect with the return of the honorific.

"Talk about what Emiya?" She said innocently. "If you're talking about being Houki-san's roommate, then I don't see the problem." She declared, and she expected him to quaver in his thoughts, to stutter in embarrassment as he tried to tell her not to talk about that.

But he didn't.

Instead he dropped his quiver of arrows and walked up to her and grabbed her hand, surprising her at the force behind it. "He-hey! Unhand me you brute!" She shouted as she pulled back at the hand that was holding her wrist. But it was to no avail, his grip was like iron, and all she could do was allow him to pull her.

He didn't respond, and only continued to pull her towards the corner of the archery range that was the rest box where the archers could sit and drink tea. She noted that it was also away from prying eyes as well.

Reaching the box, he let go of her arm, and turned around to face her, a look of quiet annoyance on his face as he stared at her. "Just what the heck do you think you're doing?" He asked, his voice strained as he tried to whisper just low enough that no one else would hear.

She just looked up and away from him. She wouldn't bother with quieting her voice, this was public knowledge anyway. "I was merely questioning you as to your whereabouts for the last two days." She explained with a huff. "Even Houki-san doesn't know where you were, and she is supposed to be your roommate."

To her satisfaction, she saw him sigh. He then looked up to her, and she turned her head to him, but she allowed her neck to bend backwards slightly, giving the impression that she was looking down at him. She quietly noted that even then, he was taller than her, much to her annoyance. Her image may have looked lackluster now. "First off, why would my whereabouts concern you? We're supposed to kill each other in six days." He said as he raised his right hand and extended his index finger. "Second, I would appreciate if you don't talk about mine and Houki's living arrangements. It is peculiar enough without more people knowing about it." She took notice of the familiar way he had addressed Houki, but otherwise kept quiet as he raised a third finger to her. "And third, if you're here to antagonize me, I would appreciate it if you left. The Archery club will be meeting in a few more minutes."

She stared at him as he dropped his fingers and hand, quietly staring at him. She looked away as she huffed. "Well, I will consent to not talking about yours and Houki-san's living arrangements. If only for Houki-san." She said, earning a sigh from the man across from her. "But for your information, I am not here to antagonize you. I have a perfectly good reason as to why I'm here." She said as she stared at him.

She watched as he tilted his head. "And what reason is that?" He asked, and her mind stopped.

…

….

…..

"Alcott-san?" She heard him call, and she snapped out of her blank state.

"Ah!" She panicked, unsure of how to answer his question. She couldn't just tell him that she had entered when she saw him, that would have sounded like she was interested in what he had been doing. She couldn't just say that. She needed an excuse; she raked her mind for a reason, trying to find a believable reason.

A moment passed, and she found the reason she needed. She mentally sighed in relief.

"I'm the Class rep." She answered, her worry now lost as she returned to her normal composed state. "And it is my job to make sure that all the students are accounted for." She said as she crossed her arms over her chest. Trying hard to not make her voice quaver at all.

This reason seemed to satisfy him as he hummed in thought. "Well," He began, scratching the back of his head. "To be honest, I'm working on a project." He told her, and she could only raise an eyebrow in question at his answer.

"Project?" She began. She hadn't heard of any teacher telling them about any project, in fact, she didn't even know that teachers gave projects in this Academy. It was, if not strange, unusual for any teacher in this hands on Academy to give a project. "What project?" She asked him, and to her ire, he only shook his head.

"Just a personal project of mine." He told her, before he raised his head to lock eyes with her. "Didn't Orimura-sensei tell you? I'm excused from my classes until I'm finished with the project." He said, and she could only frown at his excuse.

"No," She said after a few seconds of silence. "But either way, this will reflect on not only you, but to the class as well. At the very least, you could have told me personally and not rely on anyone else telling me. It is your responsibility and not anyone else's." She told him, and to her surprise, he only nodded his head while smiling.

"Yeah, sorry about that." He said. And she couldn't really respond to that.

For a minute, neither spoke, only standing across from each other, staring and saying nothing. She fidgeted slightly, unsure of just what she was supposed to do in this situation. She had opened her mouth to say something about the classes they shared, but she had closed it as soon as she opened it.

It wasn't until the sound of footsteps behind sounded from behind her did the silence get broken. "Alcott?" She heard an unfamiliar voice sound, and she turned around to see just who had called for her.

"What are you doing here?" An auburn haired woman with a high ponytail asked her. She looked older than her, but otherwise, her beauty was something quite different than the rest. Her high cheekbones and puffy lips gave her an almost rare kind of look; this coupled with her chocolate brown eyes gave her a look of someone warm and accepting.

Before she could explain why she was here, the person behind her had spoken up, beating her to the punch. "Iori-senpai, Alcott-san was just here warning me about missing classes. She was just about to leave." She turned her head slightly, as he had walked up to her side and was addressing the woman now known as Iori.

"Oh," Iori had said. "Well, if that was all, then I'll have to ask you to leave Alcott. I've heard about your little…" Iori paused, but she knew what she was about to say before she finished. "Match with our team member. I don't know if you two are on amicable terms, but I can't have any distractions to my team members here." She said, both as a warning, and a declaration. She imagined that they had had an accident before because of a distraction. She suppressed the urge to ask what kind of accident they had, and instead, chose to bow politely.

"I apologize for the intrusion Iori-san. I'll be leaving now." She bowed slightly as she addressed the older woman. She then turned towards Shirou, and gave him a light glare. "And as for you, please refrain from missing any more classes. Regardless of what your project is, I doubt that it is more important than your classes."

She watched him furrow his eyebrows, before he spoke. "But it is, I'm supposed to kill you and survive after all." He had said, and Cecilia found herself frozen on the spot.

That declaration with that kind of voice. It had sounded just like her father! So sure, and so, so, normal! The way he had said that was like he was just having causal conversation with her!

She could feel her bloodboil, but before she could berate him, before she could shout at him, he had raised a hand to stop her from talking. "Alcott," His voice was casual, but at the same time, it sounded like a warning. "I would appreciate not fighting here. We have talked on even ground for the entirety of your stay here, and I would gladly leave our impressions as equals before something else happens." He said with finality, before he looked up and stared into her eyes. She found that she couldn't look away. "So with that said, I must ask you to leave."

She could feel herself clenching her teeth, her hands balled into fists on her side, but she didn't say anything. She only nodded at him, and he nodded back. She then turned around, passing by the numerous Archery club members that were just now entering. She didn't them any mind, nor did she regard the quiet crowd outside the range, she only passed by them as her thoughts were circulating around one man that she was quite infuriated about.

**Mechanized Magus**

**XxX**

"You sure have a great sense of style Shikkun!" Tabane complimented as she wrote down what Shirou had just told her what he wanted his IS to look like.

Currently, Tabane was seated across from Shirou inside one of the Academy's garages reserved for the maintenance of IS units. Given that most of the IS units in the school were of the mass produced nature, the empty garage that held only Shirou and Tabane seemed hollow, and only the sound of Tabane's scribbling on a notebook, as well as her humming could be heard.

Of course, there was also the sound of power tools running as they continued to work on around a small orb hanging in the air, but that was inconsequential.

Shirou regarded Tabane with a raised eyebrow, before he shook his head clear. He didn't really know why she had said that sounded stylish, nor did he particularly care. She was the one that brought up the question what he wanted his IS to look like, and he had given her a description. Granted his description was rather thorough, but well, he didn't do anything half-heartedly, even the mere act of describing things would turn into a diatribe if he needed to if he really wanted to get the point across.

"Tell me," Shirou began as he looked away from the Thaumaturgist sitting across from him and towards the tools that were hovering around the air behind her. He watched in odd fascination as they moved swiftly across the air and proceeded to hold, weld, and bend in place several pieces of strange steel into a bigger form. "How can you control those tools? Are you telekinetic? Or are they mystic codes?" He asked, curiosity finally taking him.

Tabane only smiled at him before she shook her head. "Nope!" She said with such confidence that Shirou had to blink. "They're regular tools that Tabane uses! They are enchanted to some degree, but otherwise, they're just regular tools. The Academy essentially has the same tools, but they don't run on magic. So this kind of thing isn't something noteworthy, so if Chi-chan and Houki-chan walk in, just pretend that it's normal." Tabane explained as she turned back to her notebook and continued to write on it.

"But that's-" Shirou wanted to say improbably, impossible maybe. But taking another look at the genius in front of him, he found the words were caught in his throat. Here was a Magus that could combine science and magic into one and still make it look like something mundane.

Tabane either didn't notice his lapse in his words, or chose to ignore it in favor of humming and writing. In truth, she looked quite out of her element writing down on a notebook. Her fingers that held the pen and the paper the pen was pressed to was an oddity to the image of Tabane. Who had displayed the genius to create mechanical 'bodies' with Crests that were shaped as an orb. To see such a genius that had technology to not just project images in thin air using her bunny headband as well as someone that can use mechanical tools without magic use something as mundane as a pen and a piece of paper was something quite strange, yet for some reason, Shirou found that strangeness rather charming.

In the year after the horrific Grail War, he had come into contact with mages and alchemists when he came with Rin to the Clock Tower. Barring his master Luvia, most magi still thought that the means of communication in the mundane world were telegraphs. Not only that, they seemed intent on using expensive mystic codes that for all intents and purposes emulated what a regular ballpoint pen would do. The sheer absurdity of it was something that Shirou never really got used to.

But though the Magi still used expensive materials to write on a piece of paper as well as communicate long distances using objects that were several times more expensive then what a regular plastic phone with two meters of wire, they still had things that people in the mundane world could only dream of. From wards that assured privacy, to clothes that washed and dried itself in the matter of only three seconds. Those kinds of things were lost to the mundane world because the sheer absurdity of it was something that lacked common sense to people that hadn't seen Thaumaturgy.

Yet, the woman in front of him right now was someone that not only destroyed that barrier, but she was also someone that puzzled the Magi like they were the mundane. It was absurd, ridiculous, strange, whatever words that could be described wouldn't do the woman in front of him justice. She was someone that not only destroyed the preconceived notions of separation from the mundane to the strange, but she was also someone that made the strange look mundane.

It was disconcerting, but it was still oddly curious.

"Are you a First Generation Magus?" Shirou snapped out of his thoughts as the object of his thoughts suddenly spoke. He shook his head to clear his head from the thoughts, and regarded Tabane with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." He answered truthfully. "Why?" He followed his answer with his own question. And he carefully observed the eccentric bunny across from him with an inquisitive look.

The sound of metal being welded accompanied by the flash of the welding tool erupted from behind Tabane, but she ignored it completely, choosing instead to hum in thought at Shirou's words. "So you're not related to the Magus Killer Kiritsugu Emiya then?" She asked, and though her body language suggested that she wasn't paying attention to Shirou and was deep in thought, her eyes were carefully centered on the red-haired magus from across her. Carefully taking in whatever reaction he would no doubt make.

Shirou frowned, but nonetheless answered as after a second contemplation. "I share the name and the title." He pointed out. And Tabane had to hum as she heard his answer.

"That's it? Nothing more?" She pushed, and though her voice was still rather playful, there was a hint of eagerness and hungry curiosity in it.

Shirou frowned, something that Tabane noticed but didn't call him out on. "I share the name and the title." He repeated the words he had used before, but this time, there was a finality to it that prevented her from pushing any further.

And so another silence reigned, the only sound coming was from the working tools that sounded from behind Tabane. The bunny herself was still busy writing on the piece of paper, and Shirou absently noted that she may be able to use those tools, she wasn't at all used to them as much as she tried to show. He noticed her hand slumping, and her writing seemed to get sloppier the longer she had her hand on the desk.

He allowed a slightly smile to appear on his lips, not mocking, like his combat teacher would have had, but a slightly amused one. "Getting tired?" He commented, and Tabane looked up at him and smiled back.

"Yuppo." Tabane responded with vigor. Shirou had to wonder if that word was real, or if it was just a verbal tick she got growing up as she responded with the word yup. "I'm not used to writing on paper Shikkun. I usually just type things." She answered with a bright smile.

"Then why don't you?" He asked her. He was painfully aware that this was simply small talk, that it was inconsequential, but he couldn't help it, he had no idea how to talk to the genius across from him.

Tabane hummed, either in thought, or in response to his question. Either way, she didn't answer, and just continued to write on her paper.

Another silence, and this time, Shirou had no idea what to do. The silence wasn't awkward, far from it. It was simply… Jarring, for want of a better word. It was jarring simply because from the interactions he had had with Tabane, she had given the impression that she wasn't one to remain silent for too long. She literally oozed energy when she got to talking. To have her suddenly silent was something that was worrying for Shirou. For in his past experiences, both as Shirou, and as Emiya the Magus Killer. Silence usually meant danger. The latter being life threatening danger that could suddenly erupt the moment a sound was made, and the former being the danger not for his life, but for his dignity as Rin and/or Luvia would get mad at him for doing something that they thought would be completely idiotic. Of course, that kind of danger wasn't life threatening, but it was disconcerting as the two women usually had… strange ways of punishment.

He didn't go into detail on what Rider would do. Sakura wasn't even on his mind as she was still too soft to properly punish him like Rin and Luvia.

Shirou shook his head clear, he had gone off a thought process again. But thankfully, it was still rather silent as Tabane continued to write down on paper. Never looking up, and never giving any reaction to the sound of metal being welded from behind her. Shirou had to wonder if she was focused on her work, or if the sound of metal grinding on metal, of metal being welded were so common to her that she could ignore it. If so, it was definitely strange.

Not like he could talk though. He was so used to the sound of clashing swords, of skin getting shredded, of people getting impaled, of monstrosities moaning, of severing arms, anything that would be said that is disgusting and abhorred, he was used to them. It was second nature for him to stab a ghoul with the face of a child, of a pregnant woman in the stomach as she tried to bite his head off. It was strange to some people, but to him, it was second nature.

He snapped out of his thoughts as Tabane suddenly dropped her pen on the table that was right in between them. He looked up at her, and was met with the smiling face of Tabane. "…Yes?" He asked, though he was slightly hesitant.

Tabane's smile only widened at that. "Now for your armaments!" She exclaimed, and Shirou could only tilt his head forward and sigh. For a second there, he was nervous that she wanted something from him that would be completely unreasonable. It wouldn't be a strange thing. Tabane was a Magus, granted, a scientific magus, but still. It wasn't uncommon for magi to demand compensation in exchange for their services.

Shirou had to shake his head at his lapse of judgment. She had asked what he wanted his IS to look like, not the other way around. She could have very well just have made him an IS in response to her whims, but she didn't. She had asked for his input, and he had delivered.

He idly wondered why she wanted his input in the first place, but otherwise, didn't give it much thought. There was plenty of time later for that, right now, there was the problem with answering Tabane's questions.

He opened his mouth to begin his description of what he wanted his IS unit to have, but the sound of the door sliding open stopped him in his tracks. He turned his head to regard who had entered, and wasn't at all surprised to see both Houki and Chifuyu walking towards them.

They were the only ones, aside from Shirou, that knew that Tabane was in the Academy working on his IS unit. And they also knew that he was keeping watching over her as she worked on his IS unit. They hadn't questioned him as they had probably thought that he was there to observe his IS unit get constructed. Though from the looks Chifuyu was giving him, it looks like she suspected something deeper than that.

"Chi-chan! Houki-chan!" Tabane shouted as she abruptly stood up and waved at the two women approaching. Not at all caring that her voice had been quite loud and had echoed around the enclosed garage.

"Keep it down," Chifuyu barked as she approached the eccentric woman that was her friend. "People might hear you outside." She warned, and Tabane's only response was to laugh.

"I doubt that Chi-chan! That door is blast proof." Tabane pointed out in a teasing tone, before she turned towards her sister. Who had taken the time of Chifuyu's and Tabane's interaction to close the space between them, so now she was standing right next to Tabane, quietly peering down onto the written notes that Tabane had been taking right before they had entered the room.

Shirou took note of the way Houki's face contorted to confusion, to apprehension, and then to clarity before she looked up towards him. "That," She began; her voice slightly low as she looked at Shirou. "Is oddly specific." She finished her comment, and Shirou found himself smiling a bit.

"Hey, she's the one that asked me. Not the other way around." He defended in a humor-filled tone. "Besides, it doesn't hurt to be specific with this; it's my life on the line anyway."

Houki flinched as she heard that comment, but otherwise, didn't give anymore any outward reaction to it. "But still, isn't all of these things just aesthetics?" Houki commented as she reached down and picked up the piece of paper, not at all minding that what she did could have been considered rude to other people. Tabane had only watched it all with a small smile on her face. Casually observing their interaction, but otherwise, not speaking up.

"Black armor covered in white lines," Houki began, listing the numerous things she could read on the piece of paper. "The black armor would be covered with a red armor piece resembling an overcoat that was split in the middle so that it covered the shoulders and the arms, but not the waist and chest. The red overcoat would also be tied around the waist- this sounds like you being pickier than anything else." Houki commented, and Shirou had to shrug his shoulders in defeat.

"You got me," He said without shame. "I'd prefer that kind of look than anything else. If not for the aesthetics of it, than as a means to pay respects." Shirou stated, and all three women perked up at his words.

It was Tabane that had asked what he meant by that. And Shirou only just shook his head. "It's to pay respects to a dead end of a dream." He said without blinking.

His words confused the women in the room with him, but otherwise, they let the topic go. And though Shirou didn't look like he minded talking about the subject, they couldn't very well ask, as the way he had said it had sounded like someone had died.

So instead of pursuing the subject, Houki continued to read the note. Quietly taking in all that was written on it.

'_Aside from the red over-coat armor, and the specific coloring of the under armor as well as the designs, there isn't much to say about this.' _Houki thought as she placed the note down and stared at it for a second before shaking her head. _'Though the hanging over-coat could very well get caught in the wind and slow him down. Having something flapping as you broke mach 21 speeds isn't something ideal.'_

Houki was about to voice her opinion on it, but Chifuyu had beaten her to the punch. Having taken the small paper on the table, she too had read it, at a much faster pace that Houki as well. "The red-overcoat could get caught in the wind." She commented, and Houki looked up towards her.

"I know." Shirou countered. "That's why we got the aesthetics dealt with first before dealing with what it can do." Shirou said, earning a small nod from Chifuyu.

"Though I disagree with the way you're planning on building your IS. Building around the aesthetics isn't something ideal as building around the armaments, I'll let it slide for now. You have a very capable mechanic overseeing the building of your IS unit." Chifuyu commented as she stared at Tabane. Who only smiled and waved at her.

"Thanks Chi-chan! You know just what to say to make a girl blush!" Tabane said with a giggle. Chifuyu herself, couldn't stop the small smile appearing on her lips.

Watching all of this, Houki had to frown. They were too… Relaxed. Like they didn't care at all how important this fight was. And that grated on her nerves. She had knew how to fight, granted she hadn't faced a life and death situation before. But the way they were so callously stepping around the main problem made her somewhat mad.

And yet, she didn't even know why she was made. She should be mad that this was an affront to being a warrior and the bushido code, but Chifuyu-sensei was a warrior as well. And she can see it in Shirou's eyes as well, he knew how to fight like a warrior too. Even her sister, as much as she was a scientist, held some steel in her eyes from time to time when they were children. Yet, all their steel, all their warrior spirit wasn't anywhere in this room now.

It was… Annoying? Grating? Insulting? No, those weren't the right words. Chifuyu-sensei was someone that would treat any danger as something as a personal insult, yet here she was, not at all displaying that kind of emotion when someone else was faced with the same problem. And it didn't look like she was doing it on purpose, it was more like… Like how one would treat a nuisance that they will laugh at.

It was… Disappointing. When Houki had been younger, she had looked up to Ichika's sister somewhat. So strong, so sure, and so ready. Now, even though it wasn't her problem, she was treating it as if it didn't exist at all. She looked, relaxed, lazy even.

"Houki?" Houki broke out of her reverie as she looked up at the questioning faces of her sister as well as Chifuyu and Shirou. The latter having been the one that called her. "Something wrong?" He asked, and Houki had to shake her head.

"No," She denied, and though she knew it sounded weak, she tried to at least sound convincing. "Nothing's wrong." She said again, as if to confirm her own thoughts.

Shirou regarded her with a raised eyebrow, before he shrugged his shoulders. He could press for more, but though he and Houki had grown closer in the span of this week. They weren't that close. Perhaps in a few more weeks, but right now, they were nothing more than good acquaintances that bordered on friends.

Shirou turned to Chifuyu, raising his eyebrows at her as if to question her. "Why are you here Orimura-sensei?" He asked. And Chifuyu suddenly turned serious as she regarded him with a cold stare.

"I've been contacted by Alcott's father." She reported. "He wants to speak with you in regards to this supposed death match with his daughter." Chifuyu finished, quietly taking in any reaction that would come from Shirou.

The room grew silent, and even Tabane stopped her humming as she watched the situation unfold in front of her. Shirou had to frown at what Chifuyu had said. "Word gets around fast here." He said with slight apprehensiveness.

Sensing his apprehensiveness, Chifuyu shook her head. "Don't worry about news crews." Chifuyu tried to ease Shirou's thoughts somewhat. "Most likely it was Alcott herself who had told her father." Chifuyu added, and Shirou had to frown.

"She doesn't seem like someone that would ask for help." Shirou said in a soft voice. It was meant only for him, but it was still heard by the other people in the room.

Chifuyu shook her head, garnering Shirou's attention. "She isn't." She confirmed. "In all honesty, with the reports about Alcott, and the way she keeps to herself when talking about family. She doesn't exactly like her father." Chifuyu commented, and this only caused Shirou to frown. "Either way, you need to talk to her father. He is a powerful figure in the British community for the IS."

Shirou raised an eyebrow. "Powerful figure? Is he a scientist for the British government?" He asked, and he heard Tabane scoff at his words. He turned to her and gave her a questioning look, to which she only waved off.

"It's nothing Shikkun." She accented. "Just a little funny you call that man a scientist is all."

Before Shirou could ask what she meant by that, Chifuyu had spoken up to answer his obvious question. "Cecilia's father isn't a scientist; he was the husband of one." She explained. "He was the bodyguard of Jane B. Alcott. Due to their intimacy, Jane shared everything with her husband. Which consisted mostly of her research for the IS and the cores."

Shirou took in all this information without blinking an eye. "So much for the segregation of work and personal life." He quipped, which earned a small smirk from Chifuyu.

"Be that as it may, they were a good team." Chifuyu commented. "Jane was a known head across the world that had one of the most advanced knowledge in the world about the IS and the cores. She traveled the world not only to share her knowledge with other countries, but to also further her research by observing the IS of other countries." Chifuyu finished, before casting a quick glance towards Tabane, to which she returned her gaze towards him almost as fast as she glanced at Tabane. "Of course, she wasn't anywhere near Tabane. But she was the closest. It was due to her research that the British government had been the first one to develop third-generation IS units second."

Shirou raised an eyebrow. "Who was first?" He asked.

Chifuyu only smirked at him. "Japan of course." She said with certain complacency to it. "But nonetheless, had it not been for Jane, the world could very well still be developing third-generation IS units. Probably in the alpha stages as well."

"As much as I hate it when people just copy my work," Tabane spoke up, joining the conversation. "I had to give it to Jane. She was an amazing scientist. Of course, she wasn't me. But she was still smart in her own right." Tabane said without a hint of arrogance to her voice. As if she was merely commenting about the weather.

'_Of course she couldn't hold a candle to you, you're a magus.'_ Shirou thought, before he shook his head. "But what about Cecilia's father? How does being the bodyguard and husband of a scientist fit in all this?" He asked. And again, he was met with the smirking face of Chifuyu, as well as the frowning face of Tabane.

"Jane had a partner." Was all Chifuyu said, and Shirou couldn't help but tilt his head to the side.

"Huh?" Was his intelligent reply, earning a small chuckle from Chifuyu, as well as a giggle from Tabane. He oddly noted that Houki had a small smile on her face, but otherwise, didn't speak up. It looked like she had no intention of joining this conversation and had chosen to just watch the entire situation unfold.

"Jane had a partner I said." Chifuyu repeated. "His name was Dan. Dan Alcott, Cecilia's father."

"Huh. But I thought you said Cecilia's father wasn't a scientist." This time, his reaction wasn't of confusion, but of someone learning something that was slightly surprising.

"Right." Chifuyu nodded her head. "Dan may not be Jane in terms of scientific knowledge, but he does have knowledge on what Jane had been doing. Jane relied on Dan as much more than a bodyguard and a husband, he is an intellectual that Jane enjoyed discussing things with. So it was obvious that after Jane died, Dan would be the one the British government would turn to since he was the one with the most insight into Jane's research."

"Jane had been a pragmatic individual to a certain degree. She knew that due to her research, she would be the target of people that would want it. And so she had made sure that when she died, no matter how she died, her research would still remain in the hands of her husband." Chifuyu further explained. "It is for that reason that Dan is someone quite known in the IS world right now."

"Because of someone else's research?" Shirou said with incredulity in his voice. Though he wasn't one to talk, his best feats had been when he was using another's skills, their weapons, and their memories. He was after all, a hypocrite in more ways than one.

Chifuyu half-shrugged half-nodded her head. "Though that may be the case, it wasn't by choice." Chifuyu explained. "Jane died, and Dan was there to pick up the pieces. He knew just how much his wife's research was important to not only her, but to the rest of the world, that he continued to go about furthering it."

"Okay," Shirou said, trying to stop the explanation from going further away from the main topic. "I get that, but why does he want to talk to me?" He asked Chifuyu, who could only shake her head. Making him frown at the reaction.

"That's the question. I really don't know. From our conversation, it sounded like he was eagerly waiting for your call, though for whatever reason I don't know. He mentioned the match, and he had asked me why I didn't stop it from going that far. But other than that, nothing else." Chifuyu said. And Shirou again, could only frown at her words.

For a few seconds, he didn't say anything, continuing only to stare at Chifuyu as he thought about what she had told him. "Well, might as well talk to him now." Shirou amended as he stood up. He then turned towards Tabane, who still had her characteristic small smile on her face. "I'm going to have to leave for now. We'll talk about what weapons I want tomorrow." He told her, before he turned and began to walk towards the door leading to the hallway outside.

He was aware that he was being followed out, but not by Chifuyu, nor was it Tabane. It was Houki. He turned his head so that he was glancing over his shoulder, but otherwise, continued to walk. "You're not staying here?" He asked her, and she only shook her head.

"I came here to talk to you." Houki said as she followed him, and Shirou could only shrug before he stopped in front of the metal door that led to the hallway. It opened a second later with a swoosh, and he stepped out, Houki walking in step behind him.

As the door closed, leaving only Chifuyu and Tabane alone, Shirou felt a shift in the air. But otherwise didn't worry about it too much as the metal door closed behind him.

**XxX**

Chifuyu watched the two leave with a small frown on her face. And as the door closed behind the two, she turned towards her long time friend and gave her a harrowing glare.

Of course, Tabane was unfazed as she only continued to smile at her.

"Tell me, just what are you planning." She demanded as she stalked forward and stared down at Tabane. She propped herself on the table that was in front of Tabane and stared into Tabane's amused eyes.

"Mou Chi-chan," Tabane's childish voice echoed around the room. It was only drowned out by the sound of metal being welded and being stacked onto each other. "You're scary when you get like that. Tabane doesn't like it when you go scary like that." Tabane pouted as she slowly, almost comically, shrunk down on herself as if she was a child being chided by their parent.

Chifuyu frowned. She didn't really think that that would work. Tabane wasn't one to be intimidated by anything. If she was easily intimidated, she would have had a heart attack as the world's superpowers demanded her secrets on the IS.

So instead of pursuing the 'You will die if you don't tell me' route that she was so accustomed to taking. She opted to just talk to Tabane like she had before. As friends.

Granted really strange friends with a stranger relationship, but nonetheless, still friends.

Taking the seat Shirou had been using across from Tabane, she sat down and stared at Tabane. For a couple of seconds, she didn't speak. She only continued to stare at Tabane with a calculating look, and though she had resolved to just go the direct route with her, dealing with Tabane was something that she did not excel at all at.

"You have the look again Chi-chan," Tabane said, her smile still plastered onto her face. "It's scary when you look like that, you should smile. I think Ikkun likes women that smile." Tabane teased, but again, Chifuyu didn't show any outward reaction.

"Tabane," Chifuyu's voice was soft, but nonetheless, still held it's previous firmness in it. "What are you planning?" She asked, and this time. Tabane didn't outright deny her information.

Tabane only kept silent, a silence that Chifuyu wasn't used to with her eccentric friend. For a few seconds, there was silence. The only sound was from the tools behind Tabane echoing around the empty mecha garage. But even then, it did nothing to the tentative situation.

Finally Tabane sighed; she sighed and then stretched outward, her arms in the air as her sigh steadily turned into a yawn. This act caused Chifuyu to scowl, but otherwise, she waited for Tabane to finish her yawning.

"I didn't really want to tell you everything." Tabane amended as she straightened herself. Chifuyu narrowed her eyes at her words and her actions. She watched as Tabane tensed slightly, her legs lowering slightly to the floor as if she were getting ready to jump back, run, or roll. And with her first statement, it was obvious that whatever Tabane was going to say was something she wouldn't take kindly.

Granted she did have a tempe-

"Ikkun was supposed to be here." Tabane said, and all credence of controlling her temper was lost to Chifuyu.

In a flash, Chifuyu stood and swiped at her friend across from her. But though Chifuyu was fast, Tabane was faster. Before Chifuyu's hand reached Tabane, Tabane had already jumped back a considerable distance, making grabbing her a long shot unless Chifuyu lunged, but even then, she would be hard pressed to actually grab Tabane.

Tabane clucked her tongue two times while wagging her right index finger in the air, as if she was chiding Chifuyu. "Now, now Chi-chan." Tabane began, and Chifuyu grit her teeth at her easygoing way of reacting. "No need to lunge at me like that, I didn't hurt anyone right?"

'_No, you didn't, but you were planning to involve my brother into something that can!'_ Chifuyu mentally growled as she glared at Tabane. "I thought I made it clear," Chifuyu warned, her tone telling Tabane to choose her next words carefully. "Do not involve my brother in this."

Tabane lost her smile, and she just frowned. And though it was uncharacteristic of her to frown, Chifuyu didn't care. She was too busy glaring at Tabane, waiting for her explanation and ready to lunge at her if her answer wasn't something that she liked.

Was it logical? No. But she lost all logic when it came to her brother.

"Are you really willing to fight right here Chi-chan?" Tabane warned, her bunny ears taking a different coloring as she stared at Chifuyu.

In response to her reaction, Chifuyu narrowed her eyes and reached for her-

Clucking her tongue in frustration at leaving it, she straightened herself, openly glaring at Tabane, but otherwise, dropping any hostility she had in her body.

In response to Chifuyu's relaxing, Tabane relaxed herself, her bunny ears returning to its previous normal shade, and no longer radiating power. Tabane then smiled at Chifuyu before she walked towards her, her demeanor returning to her regular one. "Just relax Chi-chan. I'll explain everything, but you have to promise you won't try and kill me m'kay?" Tabane hummed, and Chifuyu could do nothing but nod her head. Though from the looks of her frown, she was doing so begrudgingly.

Tabane's smile suddenly turned into a frown, before Tabane started walking towards the seat that she had been sitting on a moment before. "Where to start, where to start." Tabane hummed, and though her voice was somewhat flighty, her demeanor suggested otherwise.

"How about the why you want Ichika here." Chifuyu didn't ask, it was an order. And Tabane found herself nodding at her, her frown still on her face.

"That's a good place to start," Tabane acquiesced. "Well you see, Ikkun was supposed to be the one that the IS responded to." Tabane began, and she stared at Chifuyu.

Chifuyu for her part, only nodded her head. "So the IS that Shirou was subjected to when he was scouted was specifically rigged to respond to Ichika only?" Chifuyu asked, and Tabane nodded.

"That's right." Tabane began. "So imagine my surprise when I find out that it wasn't Ichika that got scouted, but another man instead. Some kind of luck he has right?" Tabane said, her frown lightening slightly as she allowed it to turn into a small smile.

Chifuyu didn't share her view however, as she only scowled. "I thought you didn't believe in luck?" She accused, and though her tone was chiding, there was a certain edge to it.

Tabane only shook her head. Amused that Chifuyu knew her on such a level that she knew that there was something wrong with what she had said. "That's right, luck doesn't exist in this world. Destiny, fate, luck, whatever you call it. It doesn't exist. The only thing close to those three would be your determination to see that you change your path." Tabane's smile widened. "Though you already knew that, don't you Chi-chan?" It was a rhetorical question, one that Chifuyu wouldn't answer.

"So what? Are you telling me that Shirou has the same characteristics as my brother?" Chifuyu's voice took on an offended tone. "Because as far as I can tell, my brother isn't one to just willingly go into a death match with someone that is regarded as a genius in piloting an IS."

Tabane shook her head. "No, it's not like that." Tabane explained hastily. She knew just how far Chifuyu's love for her brother went, she had bore witness to it when they were children after all. She knew that any slight that was implied upon Ichika would be taken as a personal insult by Chifuyu, even if Ichika himself would just brush it off.

"Remember that the IS was rigged. I had rigged it personally so that it would respond to the most compatible person for it." Tabane further explained, and once more, Chifuyu's scowl seemed to deepen.

"So it was supposed to react to Ichika, yet it reacted to Emiya. So are you telling me that the IS responded to Emiya simply because he was more compatible to it?" Chifuyu asked, and again, Tabane nodded her head.

"Not just compatible though," Tabane hummed as she put a hand to her chin. Closing her eyes as she tried to re-imagine what had been said about the reaction with Shirou. "From the reports given, the IS activated without any stimuli and bust through the wall and assimilated itself onto Shikkun. And it was because he was walking past the room."

Chifuyu nodded her head. "The scouting officers were baffled by that." Chifuyu added. "They had thought that the IS was going haywire and had moved to subdue it before significant damage could be done to the school. They were surprised to see that it wasn't going haywire, but it was reacting to a person, a man with red hair."

Tabane released her chin and crossed her arms over her chest and placed them down on the table. Her bunny ears flopping forward as she bowed her head slightly. "Yeah, and that is what made me think." Tabane explained.

"It was supposed to react to Ikkun because he was the most compatible with it, even it's history was closely linked to him, but it still chose Shikkun, reacting violently as he just passed the room." Tabane explained, her tone low now as she waited for her friend across from her to piece the puzzle together.

"Closely linked to his past?" Chifuyu asked, the tone of her voice was curious. "What do you mean by that? As far as I know, Ichika hasn-" Chifuyu stopped what she was saying as what Tabane implied finally fell on her like a ton of bricks.

For a moment, neither said a word, the air growing thicker as Chifuyu silently contemplated the revelation she was subjected to. Tabane briefly wondered if she could fight her friend in a grapple, but dismissed the idea as she would no doubt lose. Magus and scientist she was, martial artist trained to kill she wasn't.

"Shirokishi." Chifuyu finally said, her tone low. Tabane nodded.

"Yuppo." Though her response was comical, her tone was dire.

Another silence, and this time, the air grew exponentially thicker, but instead of the neutrality it had before, there was a sense of enmity in it as Chifuyu stared at Tabane with fuming eyes.

"Two…" Chifuyu's voice was low, but the word she said echoed around the room. "You broke two promises to me."

"I know." Tabane's bunny ears dropped, showing her obvious sadness at what she had done. But although she looked ready to apologize to Chifuyu, she chose to just bear the forefront of Chifuyu's anger.

Seeing her friend's bowed head and low shoulders, Tabane clucked her tongue before she took a deep breath that was so close to a sigh. "Why." Was all she said as she finished her breath.

She was disappointed to see Tabane shake her head, and though she wanted to push her to answer, to demand an answer, to scream and shout at her for breaking her promises to her. She found that she couldn't. She couldn't get mad, seeing Tabane like this, her head bowed, her usual cheery demeanor replaced with melancholy looked… Wrong to her.

"I can't." Was all she said, her shoulders shaking as she said that. Almost as if it pained her greatly from saying those words. "As much as I want to. I can't."

Silence once more, and even the tools that were working so tirelessly behind Tabane stopped and fell silently to the floor. She looked up, and saw the orb that had started all of this. She wasn't angry when she looked at it, merely resigned as she sighed. She faintly noted that Tabane's shoulders had stopped shaking.

"Do you hate me Chifuyu?" She heard Tabane say in a defeated tone, as if she was resigned to a rather obvious answer.

Chifuyu had to sigh at her words. You can't get rid of me that easily.

"No." Her words pierced through the silence, and Tabane looked up in surprise. She noted that the tears that threatened to fall from Tabane's face didn't suit her at all.

"As much as I want to, as much as I have the right to, I don't." She said, and though her words were resigned, they were truthful. No hint of lying, and her words flew from her lips like she was talking in a light conversation.

Tabane opened her lips to speak, but Chifuyu cut her off. "You once told me that this world needed to change. That everyone should see the world for what it could be, and what it should be." She began as she closed her eyes. "I had thought you were an idiotic idealist. You wanted to change the world, so that no one should be forced to do anything that they hated." She heard Tabane sniff, but she continued on. Her eyes still closed. "You also said that the world is stupid, that people shouldn't die because people wanted technology. Again, idiotic idealist." She pointed out, before she sighed and opened her eyes.

She looked at Tabane's tear-streaked face. She was hiccupping now, and Chifuyu couldn't help but remember the last time she had seen her like that. When they were children, and when Tabane had said that her father told her not to play with her and Ichika anymore. "But then you go and did something that an idiotic idealist wouldn't do." She continued, not at all fazed by her friends crying face. "You go and hack into the missile network of more than thirty-two countries and you made all of those missiles target Japan. At that point, I had stopped thinking of you as an idiotic idealist, and more like you were just plain stupid."

"You didn't have to go so far to reveal the IS, you could have just revealed it to the world using less forceful means. Yet you went and did something so eye-catching that the nations had to react accordingly by using their own weapons to try and acquire something that you made to help the world." Chifuyu sighed. "Really stupid. But still, I couldn't argue with the results."

"But with all that said, even though you're stupid, even though you do things so oddly that some may think you're crazy," Chifuyu looked straight at Tabane, her eyes piercing Tabane's. "You still do things with people at heart. An idiotic idealist; granted a very stupid one." She finished as she closed her eyes. More as a means to block out Tabane's tear-streaked face than anything.

Chifuyu heard Tabane sniffle, but she made no move to comfort her. True she didn't hate her, but even then, she was still mad. Furious even with what she had been conniving behind her back. Breaking the promises that she made not to involve her brother, but also not to use the Shirokishi core anymore. Furious wasn't even the right word to describe what she had been feeling.

She would rectify any misunderstandings that Tabane might get right now.

"Don't misinterpret my words." She began, her eyes opening and now glaring at Tabane. Who had once again sported her smile once more. Chifuyu noted that this one was more natural and it looked better on her than her frowns. "I'm still angry at you for what you did with Ichika and Shirokishi." She pointed out, but that still wasn't enough to abate the smile that Tabane was giving her.

"So tell me," Chifuyu began, and Tabane's smile faltered a little at her words. She didn't stop, she at least owed her this much. "Just what role Ichika should have played should he have been here instead of Emiya. And how does Shirokishi fit in all this."

Chifuyu noted the smile that Tabane had given her was now strained, but otherwise resigned.

She had t o force back a smirk from appearing on her face. Can't weasel out of this one Tabane, I won't let you.

Smiling, Tabane looked at her friend. "You got me Chi-chan." She assented. "I'll tell you everything."

**XxX**

"Did I do something to offend you?" Shirou asked as he stopped walking and turned around to stare at his pony-tailed classmate/roommate.

Houki stopped walking as well, but unlike Shirou, who had a questioning look on her face, she had a deep scowl etched onto hers. Marring her otherwise beautiful face.

For a second, Houki didn't say anything, only staring at Shirou as if contemplating if he should tell him. But the second passed and Houki found herself staring at Shirou, her frown deeper.

"I just don't understand how you can take this match so lightly." She admitted, and Shirou found himself mirroring Houki's frown.

"Look, I already tol-" Before he could even finish his sentence, Houki had interrupted him by shaking her head.

"And I still don't get it." She pushed, and Shirou had to furrow his eyebrows in frustration. Just what was not to get? "You say that you're not scared, that Alcott will hesitate, that she won't kill you." She ranted, and Shirou found himself oddly compelled to listen to her. There was a certain passion to her voice that drew him in. A passion that was familiar to him.

"This fight has both your lives on the line, yet you treat it as something that occurs everyday. Even Chifuyu-sensei doesn't treat it with as much respect she should have. Like both you and her aren't afraid that you or the other will die! How can you just say that so casually when you know that in the heat of battle thoughts will stop and only your actions will guide you!?" Shirou was impressed. She had said that with as much passion that she could muster in one breath. And it was quite a breath.

Shirou faintly noted the whispers around them as some of the women were now openly staring at pointing at them, their voices were low, but their eyes were telling.

Sighing, he took hold of Houki's hand and started to pull her. Oddly enough, she didn't protest and only continued to allow herself to be pulled.

Turning a corner, Shirou found an empty room that was currently unoccupied save by the empty desks and seats. Sliding open the door, he pulled Houki inside and closed the door behind him before he let go of Houki's hand. Turning around to face her, he was surprised to see a faint redness in her cheeks, but otherwise, didn't give it any thought.

"Look Houki," He began, his voice exasperated, but otherwise patient as he stared at Houki. "I appreciate your concern, I really do. But it's entirely unneeded." He told her what he had told her before, but just like before when they were on the rooftop, Houki still held some doubt in her eyes.

Houki opened her mouth to tell him off, but Shirou shook his head. "Why do you care anyway?" He asked, and whatever words that Houki was about to say died in her throat.

"You say that I'm playing with my life; that I'm playing with Cecilia's life. But why do you care? About Cecilia? About me?" He pressed her harder, and Houki found herself frowning in thought at his words. "This is between me and Cecilia, not between you and me, not between you and Cecilia, and not between all three of us." He sighed, before he scratched the back of his head. He was painfully aware he was lacking tact and was being quite rude. But otherwise, didn't care as Houki's actions were confusing him greatly.

"So I'll ask again Houki, what is it to you that I or Cecilia dies?" His words were the truth, and the truth had a habit of being brutal. Truths about life and death even more so than normal.

A pregnant silence followed his question and Shirou was afraid he had done something really bad, but his fears were unfounded as he heard Houki sigh in resignation. He looked at her, and found that she had bowed her head and refused to meet his gaze.

"You're right." She began; her voice low. "I don't have anything to do with this. So why do I feel like I do?" She asked, looking up at him. He was surprised to find her gaze was filled with steel, unbending and unflinching. But hidden underneath her steely gaze was a lingering doubt. He could barely make it out, but he knew that look quite well. He had doubted himself more than once before. The Grail War and his teacher during that time made sure of that.

"This started when Alcott saw you in our room." Houki continued, and Shirou had to tilt his head in confusion. Did it start there? He seemed to remember it started when he had introduced himself to the class. He faintly remembered Cecilia openly scowling at him as he introduced himself to the class.

"If I hadn't kept quiet, if I had at least talked to Cecilia, warned her. Maybe…" Houki's voice trailed as she looked down, finding the floor surprisingly more interesting than Shirou's confused face.

And again, though Houki was thoroughly distressed, Shirou's only reaction to her was to raise an eyebrow as he tilted his head in confusion.

Did she honestly think that this could have been avoided? Had she not seen Cecilia openly antagonizing him before that little moment in their room? And why would she think it's her fault in the first place?

Shaking his head clear, Shirou got to work doing something that he had no idea how to deal with, even though it has happened before, with previous companions. And that is comforting women.

"Look Houki," He tried hard to not make his voice sound exasperated. Instead making it as soft and soothing as much as possible. A very hard thing to do for him as he was for all intents and purposes, steel. Unbending and unflinching steel. So making himself soft and caring, well, it was hard. "I really don't know why you think this is your fault, but you can be sure it's not."

Houki looked up at him, surprise etched on her face, but before she could retort, Shirou shook his head again. "No. Alcott has been antagonizing me since day one." Shirou explained, but that still didn't seem to alleviate Houki's guilty face.

"But, this fight could have been avoided if I had explained to her why you were in the bathroom. Or maybe if I hadn't invited her in the room at all. Now she thinks that you're stalking me, that you l-like me." Houki pushed, though the faint redness in her cheeks increased exponentially as she said the last few words, and Shirou had to shake his head again.

Taking one better look at Houki, he was surprised to see the guilt was mixed with fear in it. Fear for what, he didn't know. But that didn't change the fact that it was there, hidden behind her eyes and guilty face.

"This was bound to happen; I just didn't think it would happen so soon. Whether she thinks that I'm stalking you come second. She just wanted a reason to challenge me from the start, and now she has a good reason to." Shirou pushed, pushing away whatever thoughts of fear in Houki's eyes.

Seeing her about to retort, most likely telling him that because of that it really was her fault, he interrupted her. "Why does it even bother you anyway?" He asked bluntly, surprising Houki at his sudden question. "It's not your life on the line; it's mine and Alcott's. If you're worried about me killing Alcott or the other way around, I can assure you that's not going to happen. I told you I'm not some wanton murderer that kills just because he's pissed off, and I doubt Alcott will be able to kill me at all." He said, both as a means to calm Houki, and as a means to drive the point in.

Unfortunately, this only served to visibly make Houki bristle.

"But still, you're underestimating Alcott!" Houki shouted, and this time, Shirou had to take a step back in surprise at her loud voice. "I know you think that Alcott won't kill you, you sound confident that that won't happen at all. But you…" Houki's voice trailed and she looked down as she refused to meet his eyes at all.

Shirou could only stare at her with realization dawning on his face. So that was it, he may have talked to her, he may have tried to assuage her worry about me killing, told her that she he was not a murderer, but she doesn't think that Alcott will do the same.

She was worried, about him.

But that begs the question, why? Why was she worried about him? They barely knew each other, and they don't know each other well enough to properly feel for the other. Come to think of it, the only bonding moment they had was when they were on the roof two days ago. And even then, even if he had revealed more than he liked, that was barely a moment of bonding.

Sighing as he didn't have the answer to that question, he shook his head before looking up at Houki again. "Look, I already told you. I'm not killing anyone, and Cecilia, well. She can try, but I'll tell you again Houki." He reached up and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Cecilia can try, but she cannot kill me."

He held her gaze, and she didn't flinch away from it. He needed to get this through to her, she was worried, and she was scared. So he'll at least do this to ease her worries. He quietly thought of when they had this conversation before, on the roof right before Tabane appeared, would this conversation not have repeated if he had been more convincing?

Shaking his head at the thought, he let go of Houki's shoulders. "I'm not worried, and so shouldn't you." He told her straightly, and this seemed to spur Houki into action again.

She shook her head, her teeth clenched as she looked up at him, locking eyes with him once more. She opened her mouth to deny him, to rebuke him again, but he sighed before any words could escape her lips.

"Is it that hard to trust me?" He asked, and this seemed to stop her. "I know we're not friends, more like casual acquaintances, but still. Can you at least trust me on this?" He told her, and this seemed to make any argument Houki was about to say die on her lips.

Taking this as an opening, Shirou pressed on, intent on ending the conversation right there. "This isn't your fault, and why you think it is I have no idea why. But your worry is unfounded and unneeded. What does it matter to you that I die? That Cecilia might die? At best, you and Cecilia are acquaintances and classmates. The same goes for us, save that we are roommates as well." Shirou said, looking into Houki's eyes. Again, he was surprised to see stubbornness and fear in her eyes. Except her fear was now more visible. He would have asked what was wrong, but he needed to tell her this now. Before her stubbornness would do something really bad. He knew that look well enough to figure out that she would do something stupid.

"If that's everything that you're going to tell me Houki. Then I have to leave. I still need to talk to Alcott's father." He bowed, though not low enough to show respect to someone superior. He turned around and slid open the door, but before he stepped out, he turned around and took another look at Houki.

She had her head bowed, and her bangs shadowed her eyes. Her posture was straight, but otherwise, she looked extremely stiff. Sighing, Shirou fought down the urge to apologize. So instead of telling her 'sorry', he instead called out her name. "Houki."

She didn't respond, not even moving her head to glance at him. It didn't deter him in the slightest. "I'm not the best person you probably should talk to about this. We barely know each other, and as much as I want to help you Houki, I'm not the one you should talk to. Ask your sister, or maybe this 'Ichika' that she teases you about." He said, before turning around and walking out of the door, closing it behind him with an audible click.

Should he have turned around, and should he have waited for just a few more seconds, he would have been subjected with Houki's offer to help him with piloting an IS.

**XxX**

**Hmm. Mixed feelings with this chapter. On one hand, it is long. On the other hand, long doesn't necessarily mean better. Meh. Tell me what you think. It's more characterization, but hopefully, I fleshed out the characters I focused on in this chapter. Those are Chifuyu and Cecilia. Houki's POV will come in the next chapter, as well as some IS piloting too. The fight though, not so much.**

**Okay. To explain this chapter, I've had trouble with writing the rather Light hearted characters of IS because the Nasuverse is somewhat very dark, and IS is something really light hearted and funny. I needed to add some darkness to the characters, hence Cecilia's past, and Tabane's wanting to change the world. Again, I'll point this out; Houki will be explained in the next chapter.**

**Cecelia's Androphobia (Fear of men) is given some light here. We now know that something happened in her past in regards to her mother and her father. And now Shirou is about to talk to the father Dan about his death match with Cecilia. I won't reveal much about that, but if you want to know, wait for the next chapter.**

**As for Shirou's IS. Yup, it most definitely sounds like Archer. But don't get too excited, that's just what Shirou wants it to look like. Tabane on the other hand…**

**And we get to see some Chifuyu and Tabane bonding. One thing that always bothered me in the LN and the Anime of Infinite Stratos was that they never really went too deep into Tabane's and Chifuyu's relationship. I mean, it's said that they were childhood friends, but that's about it. There is no mention of how deep and how they view their friendship. I am rectifying that.**

**Again, Houki's POV will be explained in the next chapter. But to be completely honest with you guys. Houki's a complete social retard. Don't kill me Houki fans, I love Houki as much as you do. She's my favorite girl. But let's be honest here. Without Ichika, who do you think will be her friend in the Academy? It's stated that Houki's abrasive personality to strangers is something that prevents her from meeting friends. Only Ichika likes it.**

**Of course, in this chapter, Houki doesn't show abrasiveness but nervousness and guilt. But again, this will be explained in the next chapter.**

**All in all, I just have mixed feelings with this chapter. Hopefully, you guys won't find it painfully boring. I can't just rush the fight as well, since doing that would make the story seem rather rushed. I want to make the characters feel the passing of time, and hopefully, it'll be effective enough to show the gravity of the situation to you guys as well.**

**Anyway, that's about it. Aside from the fact that this chapter can be classified as filler, it's needed to show the humanness of the characters in regards to their interactions with each other. Hope it wasn't too terribly boring for you guys. I'll try to incorporate an action scene in the next chapter, but it won't be the fight. Most probably it'll be just Shirou testing out his IS.**

**And oh yeah. Those who have or is reading Zero Night, keep an eye out. I'm not just writing the next chapter, but also something else. It's a surprise, but it's a good surprise.**

**I'll get to editing this later. Right now, it's 4 am where I am. Hey, I have insomnia, and writing helps ease that a little.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	8. Friends and Acquaintances

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Lawyer Tom: Damn right you own nothing.**

**I'm not in the mood tom.**

**Lawyer Tom: That's Tom. With a capital T.**

**I said I'm not in the- Wait, y-you can see my speech?**

**Lawyer Tom: I eat a lot of carrots.**

…**No comment.**

**XxX**

When Shirou first heard Dan Alcott's voice over the phone, his first thoughts were that the man must be large and battle-scarred.

The man's voice was a deep baritone, so deep that Shirou thought the man was masking his voice somewhat as it really sounded like a demon's, a demon that escaped from hell. And though he didn't have any reference to the man's physical appearance, he guessed that the man must have been over seven feet tall with battle-scars all around his face and body.

The second thought he had however, solidified the thought of Dan being a demon that had escaped from hell.

"Fight and kill my Cecilia."

Those were Dan Alcott's exact words as the topic of Shirou's calling was finally brought up.

Before he could even have a chance of arguing, heck, before he even had the chance of asking why he wanted Cecilia dead in the first place, Dan had hung up on him. Leaving him alone in his thoughts as to why exactly would a father give someone permission to kill their daughter.

Oh he knew dysfunctional families. Sakura's stay with the Matou's was an extreme case of dysfunctional, so was the case of Rin and Sakura to be perfectly honest. But the difference between the two was that the latter had a good ending as both Rin and Sakura were reunited in the end. The former was well… The less said about it the better.

But there was a difference between not caring for someone, as was the case with Sakura and her grandfather. And hating someone. Unfortunately however, he wasn't exactly sure if Dan hated Cecilia.

From the information he got from Chifuyu, he had honestly thought that Cecilia and her father were on good terms. Cecilia had taken the time to tell her father about her supposed death match, and her father had even contacted Chifuyu so that he could talk to him. But then again, he could be reading this entirely wrong.

Shirou is a simple man, he knew that. But even then, when a father asks someone to kill their daughter, he knew that there was nothing ever simple about that.

His mind was going around in circles now, he didn't know what to think, and he honestly wished that Rin was there to talk to him. To at least try to explain this troublesome situation to him, even if she would know nothing more than him. But Rin's calm demeanor during rising problems had been a staple on his life for awhile now, and he honestly wanted her counsel.

Too bad she wasn't here. So all he could really do was try to forget the situation entirely. His method of forgetting? Archery practice.

Releasing another arrow from his bow, he watched as it hit the target dead center with no problems. He wasn't amazed, he wasn't even fazed. And in all honesty, it was probably a good thing he wasn't thinking right now. He didn't want to think, about the situation with Cecilia and her father, about the eccentric bunny working on his IS suit, or even about the Clock Tower. He just wanted his head clear for awhile. He wasn't running away from the problem mind you, but damn it, all this thinking and scheming was just not him.

And as he released another arrow from his bow and watched it hit dead center again, landing next to the multiple other arrows on the target, he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He inclined his head to look at who had approached him, and wasn't at all surprised to see the Kyudo captain right next to him with a frown on her face.

"You've been working hard Emiya, take a break." Her words sounded like she was requesting him to, but he heard her tone and what lay beneath it. She wasn't asking, she was ordering him to.

He would have shook his head, but decided against it as he just turned back towards the target and pulled out another arrow. "Sorry Captain, I'm still rusty. I need to keep practicing." It was a lame excuse, but honestly, it was the only one he could think of right then and there. And if he stopped, then his thoughts would most likely wander back to the headache that was Dan Alcott. Don't get him wrong, he'll deal with that later, but right now, he needed to focus on what he was doing.

Taking a deep breath, he allowed his mind to clear as he imagined himself as the arrow hitting the target. And as he released his hold on the bow, he watched as-

"I said get going Emiya!" He would have flinched, heck, he would have jumped had it been any other situation at the sudden shout next to his ear. But he had allowed his mind to clear, and he was focused on hitting the target no matter what happened. But he was not without fault, the shout had made him jerk his arm somewhat, sending the arrow a few millimeters off target.

With a loud thud! He watched as the arrow lodged itself on the outer ring right after the red bulls-eye. It was an honest mistake, something no one would fault him with. But to him, it was annoying.

He turned to glare at his captain, only to see her staring at the target in wonder. He heard whispers coming from behind Iori, and as he tilted his head to stare at the owners of said voices, he was met with the sight of the women pointing and staring at what he had done.

Why was hitting the outer white ring more impressive than hitting the bulls-eye?

"Geez Emiya," He turned to Iori, the previously mentioned captain of the Kyudo team. He was met with both an exasperated stare, as well as an approving glare, from the beautiful captain. He had no idea how you can have an approving glare, but Iori was giving him nonetheless. "Do you ever miss the target? I shouted right next your ear as you shot that, and you still hit the target."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I missed a shot once. I'm not perfect you know." He stated as he turned back towards the range and notched another arrow on his bow.

Before he could pull back the arrow however, a hand was placed on his shoulder, and again, he turned to look at his captain. "Take a break Emiya, that's an order from your captain. You've been pushing yourself too much for the last two hours." She said, her voice holding no room for argument from him.

Glancing over at Iori, he let out a sigh as he dropped the bow to his sides and picked up the quiver. He then hastily made his way to the side of the range, where a space was reserved for breaks, before hastily grabbing his pack and grabbing the thermos of cold water inside it.

As he brought the thermos to his lips, he noted that Iori had followed him, and was giving him a smile. "Pretty thirsty aren't you Emiya?" She asked. He finished drinking before he wiped his mouth and turned to stare at her. Before he could respond to her however, she had continued with her patronizing tone. "Maybe that's what happens when you fire arrow after arrow for two hours without breaks."

He couldn't help it, he pouted at her. It was childish and completely irrational, but he didn't need someone trying to take care of him, even though they had good intentions. "I don't need you to baby me." His words came out sounding more like he was whining, but Iori either didn't notice, or she didn't really care.

"I'm not babying you Emiya," She pointed out as she shook her head. "I'm just looking after my juniors. When I see one of them continuously firing arrow after arrow for two hours with no stopping, I'd gladly step in and make them stop." She stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

Shirou sighed. "But I'm not tired at all." He tried to explain, and it was true after all. Firing arrows for two hours wasn't tiring to him, in fact, it barely winded him. To him, firing for two hours straight barely even counted as a workout. All you had to do was breath in, imagine you are the arrow, and release as you breathe out. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. It was more boring and mind-numbing than tiring if he had to be honest. But that was what he asked for, something that will take his mind off of things. If he wanted to get tired, he would have been practicing his Magecraft. But seeing that he had no workshop in the Academy, and the fact that he didn't want to practice his Magecraft with Bunny-fu-fu running around, this was his only option.

Well… This or the library. But he wasn't really much of a reader, seeing as he could just Trace the entirety of the book and have it stored inside his head in a matter of seconds. It felt like he was cheating when he did that, so he didn't really do it much. Even with the IS operational manual that he was given, even though it was over one thousand pages thick, he hadn't bothered with Tracing the thing.

"So tell me Emiya, just what has got you so ticked off?" Iori asked him. And he couldn't help but stare blankly at her, quietly asking why she was interest at his problems. To which, she only shrugged.

"Cause I like you." That… That made him nonplussed. So he did the only thing he really knew how to do when he was confused, he tilted his head to the side and gave out a "Huh?"

His captain saw his reaction, and she couldn't help but giggle slightly. "Oh don't be so surprised Emiya, almost everyone in this Academy has taken a shine on you. With select few actually outright hostile to you in the first place." Her words were ambiguous, but it was obvious just who she was referring to.

He opened his mouth to ask why she liked him, but she cut him off by shaking her head. "But even though I like you, I don't have time for romance in my life." She said with a sigh. "Too much time wasted on something that I find completely useless. Besides, you don't want to date an old woman like me. You're young… Well, younger than me." She grinned, and he couldn't help but respond with a light smile on his face. It wasn't much, but it seemed to placate the worried captain somewhat.

"Honestly though," Iori began almost as a sigh. "I didn't think you'd break after so long." She said as she looked at him, her grin dropping and getting replaced by a frown. "If I were you, I'd have slapped her or at least gotten into a full blown fist fight if I was really pissed."

Again, her words confused him. "What are you talking about?" He asked. He had an inkling feeling as to who Iori was talking about, but that wasn't entirely the reason why he was so crossed right now. Cecilia was only part of it.

"I mean Alcott." Iori said as if she was stating something obvious. "I know you have your fight with her in a few more days, but honestly, with the way you're being treated by her, I'd have thought you'd finally blown a fuse and was taking it out on the targets here."

He blinked once, before he gave his captain a dead stare. "Okay first off, I don't do anything if I'm angry. I wasn't firing the arrows thinking Alcott-san's face was on the target." He raised his right hand and his index finger as he listed that off. And then he raised his middle finger as he explained further what he was doing. "And secondly, I'm not mad at Alcott. Not in the slightest. Do I find her abrasive and pushy? Yes. But that doesn't warrant my anger. It would be immature to get mad at her for antagonizing me." It was the honest truth. Cecilia, for all her bravado and her arrogance, amounted to nothing more than a bully. A bully to him. And though he loathed bullies with a passion, if he was the one being verbally bullied, he wouldn't react to it. Now, if the bully got physical, or decided to bully someone else; that was when he got mad.

But as it stood, Cecilia wasn't bothering him in the slightest; it was her father that was bothering him.

"So then what are you mad about?" Iori asked, and again, he couldn't help but let out a sigh as he scratched the back of his neck. Unsure if he should answer the question or not. It wasn't like it was her problem after all, and to be honest, this just bothered him more than made him mad.

Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to just tell her. "It's about Alcott's father." He said as he dropped his hands to his sides and stared at his captain. Only to be met with her wide eyes and slight frown.

He was about to ask her what was wrong, but Iori already answered, in the most embarrassing way possible for him. "Oh wow, you're a masochist. Well, good luck trying to woo Alcott and her father. Though you do work fast Emiya, already trying to woo her father?" Iori laughed as she clasped his shoulder.

…He had no words to describe what he was feeling right then and there. As it stood, he could only stare at his captain with wide eyes and a slightly incredulous manner. He was pretty sure that if he was in front of a mirror, his face would be comical; the only thing that was missing was him openly gaping.

His captain seemed to notice him staring at her with a comical expression, before she burst out laughing at his face. "What? Am I wrong?" She asked in between breaths, her laugh now attracting the attention of the other archers still practicing their target shooting. He quickly made gestures to keep it quiet to Iori, to which she did so, much to his relief.

"Yes," He answered his captain as he stared blankly at her. "You are very wrong." He said as he gave her a dead stare, he didn't want to say anything else that could be incriminating. Well, at least, incriminating when spoken to Iori.

"Oh don't be such a spoilsport Emiya, I was only joking." She said uproariously as she clasped his shoulder once more, he could only sigh at her attitude. The more he talked to Iori, the more she seemed like Mitsuzuri… He mentally made a note to never allow those two to meet when he was in their immediate vicinity. Between Mitsuzuri's ways of trying to make him smile, and Iori's way of comical teasing, he wasn't sure if his mind could take it.

"Still though," Iori relented her teasing demeanor and straightened up, much to his relief. "I thought your problems were with Alcott personally, what dragged her father into this mess?" She asked.

He shrugged his shoulders as he replied. "I have no idea too." He said honestly. "I was just given a missive by Orimura-sensei yesterday telling me to call Alcott's father. I couldn't exactly contact him due to extenuating circumstances from his end, so I tried this morning." He didn't bother going deeper into what those circumstances were. It was nothing really; it wasn't even in his control. When he had called yesterday, Alcott's father had told him that he was busy and he should call tomorrow, preferably mid morning or at noon. He took the former choice, and now he was here. He didn't need to say that he skipped another day of classes. An act that he would stop starting tomorrow, as for now, he really didn't have a valid reason to be absent at all. Hopefully, Orimura-sensei wouldn't outright kill him, just bonk him a few times on the head… The sudden urge to actually just let her kill him actually seemed much more appealing for some reason. His brain cells certainly agreed to his thoughts.

He caught Iori looking at him as her head was tilted, which promptly made him mutter "What?" In question to her questioning look.

"Aren't you going to explain why exactly you were given a missive to call Alcott's father personally?" She asked. A totally valid question, but one he honestly had no idea how to answer.

It wasn't that he didn't know… Well, actually, saying that he didn't know would probably answer the question, but if he did say that, he would actually be lying. But he couldn't tell Iori why as well, simply because… well, he didn't know why either.

His conversation with Dan Alcott had been brief and unexpectedly confusing. Confusing because contrary to Dan Alcott's deep and straight voice, his motivations for what he said during their brief conversation was entirely mysterious.

Yeah, needless to say, he had no answer.

He shook his head at Iori, but didn't say anything more. She frowned. "Can't tell me huh?" She said with shake of her head. "Well, it doesn't really concern me. So I guess that's good, as long as you're not part of an arranged marriage with Alcott."

Again, he could only stare at Iori, unable to actually reply for fear that whatever he says, can and will be used against him.

Seeing him look at her, Iori let out a bark of laughter. "You're so easy Emiya." She pointed out as she clutched her stomach, unable to keep her laughing in control.

He opened his mouth to sigh, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him from following through. He looked up and found Iori had stopped laughing and had placed her hand on his shoulder again, this time, her visage serious. "But seriously, you need to lighten up. I don't exactly know what your problems are, but if it warrants you training for two hours straight, well, maybe you just need to ask someone for help."

He frowned at her words. She was right, he knew that. But this wasn't exactly a big problem. And there was no one that would be able to help him about it in the first place. Not unless that someone knew Dan Alcott and Cecilia personally, or at least, knew of their family history. And from what he could discern for the last few days in this academy, Cecilia wasn't really popular, even before he enrolled in this Academy. So her having a close friend was probably a bust. Of course, he could be wrong, but from her haughty attitude and… racist views of Japanese people in general, he doubted she had anything more than acquaintances in this school.

"…i! Emiya!" He snapped out of his thoughts as he finally registered Iori calling him. He looked up at her, and noticed that she was pointing behind her with her right thumb over her shoulder. He leaned to the left and stared at the direction she was pointing at, namely the entrance to the range, and was surprised to see Houki tentatively peeking through the entrance, looking around as if looking for someone.

"She was here an hour ago, and an hour before that. She keeps peeking through the door, but she hasn't entered yet." Iori explained as he straightened himself to stare at her. Iori crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a blank stare.

"Since you're on break anyway, ask her why she's here." She ordered him.

"Why are you ordering me around when I'm on my break?" He narrowed his eyes at her, though there was more curiosity and disbelief in his voice then enmity.

Iori just grinned at him. "Captain's orders." Was all she said before she turned around and walked back towards the range, towards another woman having trouble with hitting her target.

He sighed. He really wouldn't want Iori and Mitsuzuri meeting. That would be more trouble than worth. Taking another gulp from his thermos before placing it back inside his pack, he made his way towards the entrance of the range, where Houki was still looking towards the range, her eyes scanning over the people as she looked for someone.

"Hey Houki-san." He said as he approached an appropriate distance for her to hear, but not outright jump in surprise.

Too bad though, Houki did jump in surprise. All the while shouting in surprise at his sudden greeting.

He could have sworn he heard her shout "Kyaa!" As she jumped some feet in the air and out of the doorway. He rushed towards the door, only to find Houki sprawled on the ground right outside it.

"Sorry," He uttered, trying his hardest not to smile but failing at even that. "Didn't mean to scare you. I didn't even think you'd get scared like that."

"Sh-Shirou!" She jumped up and started dusting herself off as she did so. He tilted his head in confusion to her jumpy attitude, but otherwise, didn't give it anymore thought.

He gave her a small smile. "Captain says that you've been looking inside every hour for the last two hours." He explained as he stepped out of the range and slid the door closed behind him. "She asked me to ask you who you were looking for." He explained as he stared at Houki. He noticed Houki's ears going red, and her face getting flushed.

Before he could ask if she was okay however, she interrupted him. "A-ah." She said with a small voice, he almost missed it. "She noticed that?" Houki asked him, and he could only shrug in response.

"Guess so." He replied.

…

…..

….

Silence followed right after his answer, and he grew more uncomfortable as it extended. He was waiting for Houki's answer to his question, but she didn't seem inclined to answer it in the slightest.

He shifted slightly as he tried to keep the awkward situation from getting more awkward. He didn't know what to say next, and it looked like Houki wanted to say something, but she couldn't find it in herself to say anything. Heck, she couldn't even face him for some reason.

"Are you okay?" He asked suddenly, eliciting a surprised 'Eep!' from Houki. He raised an eyebrow at her reaction, but otherwise didn't give it anymore thought.

"You're red and you're fidgeting slightly." He noticed that just now, Houki shifted from her position in front of him nervously. And she didn't seem comfortable with the situation they found themselves in. He stepped forward and placed a hand on her forehead. It was presumptuous for him to do so, as only yesterday he had said that they were good acquaintances and nothing more, but she looked red, and from his hand on her forehead, she was really hot.

"You're really warm Houki," He stated as he removed his hand from her forehead. He looked down at her, and he couldn't quite catch the look on her face, but he did notice the redness on her ears. "Do you have a fever?"

No answer. He was about to ask again, but a hand on his own stopped him from saying anything else.

"…" Houki said something that he couldn't hear, he leaned closer to her, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Sorry, could you repeat that?" He asked her. Truth be told, he was honestly worried about her, she was warm when he put his hand on her forehead, and the way she fidgeted suggested that it was taking considerable strength from her part to even stand there. Heck, coming back here every hour for the last two hours as she was must have taken a toll on her.

"I said," Houki breathed in as if to steady herself. "I'm fine. I was looking for you." She answered both his question at the same time, and he found himself tilting his head to the side as he stared at her.

"Looking for me?" He repeated. "Why were you looking for me?" He asked her as he stared at her, honestly confused.

At his question, Houki reddened and looked away from him. The act arousing his suspicion, but otherwise, wasn't something really noteworthy. "…What happened with Alcott's father?"

He had a feeling that wasn't what she wanted to ask him, it probably wasn't even why she was here in the first place. But he let it go nonetheless. She has a right to her secrets and all that, same as him and Alcott. But if it were Rin here instead of him she would no doubt keep pressing until Houki caved.

He shrugged his shoulders at her. "Nothing much, I talked to him about my upcoming match with Alcott, and-" He caught himself before he said anything more. He had to resist the urge to groan. He was doing so well forgetting about it, and now it had come back full force.

"Shirou?" He heard Houki call, and he refocused his attention back to her. He shook his head in reply to her questioning look.

"He told me to go easy on his daughter." He lied through his teeth. He caught Houki's scowl and thought he was caught, but she didn't say anything. She only stared at him, carefully scrutinizing him as he stood there in front of her.

The reason he lied to Houki was simple. Her conscience was telling her that this match was her fault. So if he told her that Cecilia's father told him directly to kill his own daughter, she would think that Cecilia and her father were having a fight, and that she had been the catalyst for a means to permanently remove Cecilia from her father's sight…

But then, he was Rin apprentice for a year, he could have just picked up her thought process. And he was taught by that guy during the Grail War as well, and that probably made him more paranoid than he thought.

Still, teachers or no teachers, telling Houki about it just didn't make sense. She was already beating herself up for something that she just accelerated than started. So to save her from pulling her hair out, he decided that he'd just withhold the information. Besides, he was going for the kill, but he wasn't going to kill. If that made sense.

"Really?" Houki asked, disbelief etched on her face. He nodded his head at her, hoping that this lying was getting through. He was never the most ardent liars, but when he needed to, he would lie.

Another moment of silence passed by them, and the awkwardness in the air grew as they stood across each other, staring each other down.

"So-"

"Chifuyu-sensei-"

He closed his mouth and motioned for her to continue. She breathed in, before she proceeded to relay what she had been about to say a moment ago. "Chifuyu-sensei was looking for you today." She stated, and he found himself scratching the back of his head out of reflex.

He was nervous for one explicit reason. 'I didn't want to deal with Alcott' was probably not a valid excuse for his absence. True, he did have permission from Orimura to skip two days of classes, but today had been a third day, an extension.

"Erm," He squirmed under Houki staring. "I didn't feel like going to class today?" He tried, he had passed his lying quota for the day, so his excuse was weak and see through.

Houki crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her body to the side as she tilted her head as if to say 'That's the best you can come up with?'.

He sighed, yeah, that really was. Oh well. "I didn't want to deal with Alcott today." He told her straight, and that made Houki straighten herself and narrow her eyes at him.

"And why exactly don't you want to deal with Alcott-san today?" She asked, trying to dig deeper. He silently hoped for something to happen, anything actually. A stray arrow hitting him even though every archer in the range was facing the other direction, a random meteor crashing down on his head, anything to get away from Houki scrutinizing glare.

His prayers were answered, but not by an act of God. By an act of the Devil himself.

"Emiya!" He stood stock still as he heard that voice.

Now, he didn't need to say that he was only here in the Academy for only three days, and have had some conversations with the owner of the said voice that can be counted with one hand. But even then, he could recognize that voice even if he wasn't at all familiar with the owner at all. Save for the fact that he knew that she had taken a life before, same as him.

But then, he could figure out who's voice it was by simple logic. Houki told him that Orimura-sensei was looking for him, he was pretty sure that his application for the Kyudo club had been brought to Orimura-sensei because she was his homeroom teacher, and they were in front of the Archery range's entrance, where they were out in the open, where they could be clearly seen.

Yeah, even if he wasn't the sharpest tool in the box –and he openly admitted that- it didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

Deciding that running was the best course of action, he gave a hasty 'Well it was nice, but nowIhavesomethingtodointherange!' before he tried to slide open the door leading the to range.

Keyword: Tried.

He had opened the sliding door and was one step inside before he felt a powerful tug on his shirt, he was helpless as he felt himself get raised in the air before he was flipped back first towards the ground, right over the silently furious face of Orimura Chifuyu.

With a loud thud, he landed on the other side of Chifuyu, his back on the ground and his limbs sprawled across the ground, he would bet he looked like a starfish right then and there.

He opened his eyes, only to be met with the intense glare of Chifuyu staring down at him, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared him down.

The fact that he was only slightly in front of Chifuyu and he had a slight view of her black undergarments was completely lost to him, both for his safety, and for his sanity.

He opened his mouth to try and explain, to try and get himself out of this situation with the least injuries, but thought better of it at the last moment. He got himself into this mess; he'd just have to take responsibility, even if that would mean hurting all over.

Steadily, he stood up. Dusting whatever dirt and grime that had caught itself into his Kyudo uniform. Satisfied that he had gotten what he could, as some of the dirt had gone deep into the material itself, he turned towards Chifuyu. Making sure he bowed just enough to show his genuine guilt for the act, he spoke. "I'm sorr-"

He didn't even get past his second word, before he felt a sharp blow erupt from the back of his head.

He had to admit, though he was a full head taller than Chifuyu, she had experience whacking someone behind their heads with great force even at that disadvantage. "No apologizing!" She shouted at him.

"W-what?!" He barked out of reflex. That had hurt him, and as his vision started to clear up, he noticed that Chifuyu was holding a paperback notebook that was as thick as a regular book. He then thanked his lucky stars that it was a paperback notebook.

"Apologizing gets nowhere." She stated clearly as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared straight at him. Her brown orbs met his golden brown, and he had to admit that he was thoroughly scared. Her eyes were the same as Rin's when she found out he had done something particularly stupid. "I want to know what you intend to do to catch up on your three days of missed classes now. Count your explanation as your apology if you have to, but I will not have a slacker in my class."

He winced slightly at her words. He was a lot of things, but a slacker was not one of them. When he did something, he made sure to do so with his all.

Thinking of what he could do, he decided to just take a shot in the dark. "I'll study in the library and catch up." He pointed out. Yeah, he could do that, though he probably would have to resort to Tracing books, if it would placate Chifuyu, then that would be fine.

"Alone?" Chifuyu asked, her eyes narrow as she stared at him. He didn't know just what she meant by that, but nonetheless, he nodded at her.

It was probably the wrong answer as her glare intensified. He found himself taking a step back in fear of what she would do, but thankfully, she didn't escalate things further than glaring itself. "I'll assign a tutor for you," He twitched at her words. "The class has gone past the explanations of flight that multiple IS units possess, and to catch up to that, you need to know about the parts that push against gravity itself to enable flight." She explained, and everything she had said had gone right over his head.

"What?" He asked, honestly confused at her words. Chifuyu only smirked at him.

"Exactly." She responded as she put a hand under her chin and adopted a thinking posture. "Now to who exactly will be your tutor…" She trailed as her mind wandered. He didn't need to say out loud at this point, he had no say on the matter at all.

Nonetheless, maybe he could… "I don't need a tu-"

"I'll do it." He snapped his head to the side in sheer surprise at Houki's words. He had almost forgotten that she was right there, between getting thrown overhead and towards the floor and Chifuyu's glaring, he couldn't exactly have conscious thought of his surroundings.

"Then it's settled." Chifuyu said, and again, he snapped his head towards Chifuyu. "I suggest taking Emiya now, he has over a hundred and fifty pages to catch up on." Chifuyu droned as she turned around and began walking away. Not looking back as her mission was done and over with.

"…Don't I get a say in this?" He said softly. His words were late, but the way that conversation had gone, he honestly didn't think he'd have arrived any sooner than after it was over.

Sighing in defeat, he turned towards Houki, who was looking up at him with a smile on her face. "I'll reserve a spot in the library; you come over as soon as you're done packing up things here Shirou." Houki stated as she turned around and walked opposite of Chifuyu's direction, where the library was.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he decided that if this was what being part of the Academy entailed, maybe he really should have been more firm with Rin in saying he didn't want anything to do with this Academy.

And at the risk of sounding sexist… Women were troublesome, their parents were troublesome, and being the only male in an Academy full of women was troublesome.

**Mechanized Magus**

**XxX**

He flopped down on the table as Houki finally closed the textbook that they were using for their 'Infinite Stratos: hardware' class. And he honestly couldn't help but sigh in relief as she did so.

He heard her giggle, but his strength had all been sapped, so he couldn't really turn his head to look at her, so he settled with a soft groan instead.

"It wasn't that bad was it?" She asked him, and again, his reply was to just groan at her.

"Oh come on now," He could just imagine her scowling at him. "It wouldn't be so hard if you attended classes." She chided him, and he could tell that she was being serious with him.

This time, he did turn his head to stare at her. "I thought you knew that I was with your sister for two full days." He said to her in a dead tone. Houki responded by huffing at him.

"That was for two days, you didn't say anything about a third." She told him, and he shrugged before he flopped down again. He couldn't argue back because what she said was true after all.

Silence descended on them both, the only thing he could hear was Houki packing up the books she had brought as she was about to return them to their places in the shelves. He turned to her and decided that returning the books would be the least he could do for her and her time.

"Hang on Houki," He called out to her as he straightened himself. She turned to him, and he gestured towards the books that were stacked up on one side of the table they were on. "I'll return them, you can leave. It's the least I can do for your time." He explained as he stood up and proceeded to gather the last few books and stacked them upon the pile that Houki had made.

Houki's response to him was to smile. "Thanks Shirou," She said as she stood up and picked up her bag and her own notebooks. "I'll wait for you outside. We'll walk back together." She told him. He responded with a small smile at her.

"Sure thing." He told her as he picked up the heavy pile and went towards the shelves that housed countless books.

He had to admit, this library was quite focused. True it was large, but most of the books on the shelves were about Infinite Stratos and everything related to them. Theorems of Physics, statistics books, aeronautics and their parts. It was extensive as it was focused.

The library itself looked modern, the walls were white as their uniforms, and the only color the library background had were the books on the shelves themselves. The roof had glass panes on top of it, allowing a clear view of the sky and the sun as it made its way across it, and the windows were quite large as they stretched up to the second floor of the library.

The tables aligned on the sides of the library weren't colorful, they were as white the library walls as well, even the chairs looked like they were made of steel as they shone silver in the light. Had it not been for the fact that he had seated himself on one of the chairs themselves and found out that they were plastic he would have passed the whole four years without knowing that the library had plastic chairs that looked like they were steel.

Placing book after book on the shelves, his mind started to wander. He eyed each book shelf as he passed them, the books on them told them what exactly kind of Academy this place was.

'Theories of physics: 13th edition', 'Gyronautics and Aeronautics: how they mash', 'Energy: the different kinds'. It was an extensive collection of books pertaining to the sciences. Most – if not all – would go over his head if he didn't study any of them at all. And if he valued his life, he wouldn't flunk out. Rin would kill him if he did so, using the excuse 'I don't want a flunky apprentice!' Sakura would be disappointed in him, and Rider… He didn't know, but he could guess that she would be as disappointed in him as much as Sakura would.

As he placed the last book on the shelf where it belonged, he turned around and made his way towards the table where he had left his things, he caught sight of someone in his peripheral vision. He turned his head to look at who he had caught sight of, and saw a woman with light blue hair reaching towards a book that was just out of her reach. The sight of it was slightly amusing, as she was on her toes and reaching towards a book on the top shelf, and the sight of a chair right behind her only added to the sight.

Silently as he could, he made his way towards the woman having trouble with height. And as he finally reached her side, he reached up and plucked the book that she was trying to grab herself. It was slightly dislodged from the shelf, so he didn't have trouble picking out which of the books she was reaching for.

"Ah!" The woman gave out a squeak in surprise, probably because of his sudden appearance. He glanced at the book in his hand, and raised an eyebrow at the title. "Robots: Then and now", the title wasn't surprising. In fact, he kind of expected it, but what surprised him was the picture on the cover of it. It depicted a red, blue and white robot that was posing in a strange fashion. The sight of it kindled his memory somewhat, but he couldn't make out where he had seen that particular scene. The robot had its right arm outstretched in front of it, while its left hand was close to its chest and enclosed into a fist, the robot had a giant G on top of its head, and its yellow eyes glowed with some kind of power as it stared right at him… Where did he see this robot before?

He shook his head at his wandering mind, he shouldn't space out like that, the woman was waiting for the book. He turned towards the woman, book outstretched in his hands, only to find that she was gone. The space she was occupying now nothing but empty air.

He looked around in surprise, wondering just how quiet the woman was to have evaded him entirely, only to see that she was making her way towards the entrance, rather hastily he might add.

"Hey wa-!" He caught himself, he had almost shouted the words. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice as there was no one to notice it in the first place. The library was a quiet place, but right now, there seemed to be a lack of students using it for its intended purposes.

Deciding that running after the woman was better than shouting, he did just that. Careful to make his steps as light as possible so as to not disturb the other (though small in number) occupants of the library.

He cursed silently as the woman reached the door, before she pushed it open and rushed outside.

"Hey wait!" He finally shouted, it wouldn't have mattered anyway now that the woman was out of the library itself.

Rushing past the register for the books, and ignoring the shush of the librarian, as well as her attempts to stop him from just taking the book without checking it out, he ran outside. He checked the left hallway, only to find Houki looking at him in confusion, probably because he had just burst out of the library in a hurry. No, no sign o that blue haired woman. He then checked the right hallway, which showed no sign of the woman either.

"Wow she's fast." He muttered as he scratched the back of his head in slight irritation. He turned towards Houki, maybe she had seen the woman pass him.

"Hey Houki," He called out to her as he faced her. "You didn't happen to see a woman with blue hair run by you did you?" He asked.

Houki gave him a confused stare, before she shook her head. "No, I didn't notice anyone." She answered truthfully, which only meant that the woman may have run down the right hallway. That, or Houki just didn't notice at all.

"Is something wrong?" Houki asked him, to which he replied by mirroring Houki's previous reaction by shaking his head.

"Nothing, it's just that she was reaching for this book and-" He was cut-off mid sentence as the doors of the library flung open, revealing an angry student librarian glaring at him with something akin to loathing.

At first he didn't know why she was staring at him like that, but as he caught a glimpse of the book he was holding in his right hand, he knew just why the librarian was close to smacking him upside the head.

Hopefully, he can be diplomatic… "Can I burrow this?" He said as he raised his right hand and pointed his left index finger towards the book that depicted the posing robot.

The librarian didn't respond verbally, instead, she stomped her way towards him and snatched the book from his hands, all the while staring angrily at him. "…Next time. Don't run out." She warned him before she gestured for him to come back inside.

He could only laugh sheepishly as he did so.

**XxX**

"A blue-haired woman?" Houki asked him as they finally reached the room they both shared. Thankfully, there were no longer any problems with sharing the room at all. Though yesterday evening was rather awkward for the both of them, it seemed that only one day would make up for whatever was said that could drive a wedge between them.

He nodded his head at her as he opened the door to the bathroom. He needed to change his shirt, he had been in the same shirt the whole day today, even before he had come to the Kyudo club, he had worn the same shirt. And now, after two hours of continuous shooting of arrows, and an hour and a half of tutoring with Houki in the library, the damn thing smelled rather funky. Thankfully, it didn't smell so bad that it was noticeable, but for sanitary purposes, he needed to change it.

"Pretty much yeah, you know anyone with hair that same color as the sky?" He shouted from inside the bathroom as he removed his plain white t-shirt. The question itself was ridiculous, but he saw what he saw, and he was sure that the hair color was sky blue.

"No one comes to mind," Houki shouted. There was a pause, before Houki spoke up. "Though the student council president has hair that's sky blue."

'_Student council president?'_ He thought as his mind wandered towards Issei. The man was a good president, and he couldn't help but wonder just what would happen if he was the one that an IS reacted to…

He would probably die from trying to avoid all the 'sketchy' women he would no doubt notice in this Academy.

He pulled his favorite t-shirt over his head, a long sleeved shirt with blue sleeves, before he looked himself over the mirror. Nodding to himself as there was no rinsing required, he turned towards the door. "Student council president?" He asked as he opened the door that lead to the living side of the room he shared with Houki.

"But I don't think it was her." Houki answered as he closed the door behind him. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"The president is overseas right now. Russian, I think." Houki said with a hum. He sighed, well, there goes the idea of the student council president being the mystery runner. Maybe he should just stake out the library? She was there after all, reaching for the book. The book that was now in his suitcase. The book that he was forced to burrow to have at least, a valid excuse for running out of the library. An excuse that was coupled with the words, 'I was so excited to read that I just ran out'. Yeah, all in all, it was a valid excuse, yet a really, really bad one.

Sakura and Rin were right. He was a bad liar.

Thankfully, the day was over, and all he really had to do now was sleep. He had taken a shower right after leaving the archery range, but the fact that he didn't have a change of clothes was only a factor until right now. All he had to do now was sleep, hopefully tomorrow during class, he wouldn't be so behind.

Speaking of classes though… He sat down on his bed, facing Houki as he did so. They were parallel to each other, and he couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't gotten his own room. There was after all, only three or five feet of space in between the beds they lay on. It couldn't be that hard to give him a spare room. But then again, Chifuyu had told him that there really was no other choice. So maybe there really weren't any spares left.

"Thanks." He said abruptly. Houki tilted her head in confusion to his words. Her hair now sprawled behind her back as she had untied it to get ready to sleep.

"What?" She asked him, and he shook his head at her.

"Thanks for taking the time to tutor me. You didn't have to, but I appreciate it nonetheless." He told her straightly, his eyes locking with hers to show that he was serious about what he was saying.

Strangely enough, her response was to look away from him. He could faintly see the upper edges of her ears turning red, as well as her face getting flushed, but otherwise didn't call her out on it. "It wasn't much…" She trailed off.

He shook his head. "It was a lot, if it wasn't for you. I'd probably go to class tomorrow having no idea what the teacher would be talking about." He told her straightly. And again, she looked away, her face getting flusher, and her ears redder.

"…" She muttered something under her breath, something he couldn't exactly make out. But before he got the chance to ask her what she had said, she looked up at him and changed the subject.

"You have no idea how to pilot an IS right?" She asked him. The question was so abrupt, that he actually did a double-take to make sure he heard right.

Nervously, he answered her question. "Well, yeah. I suppose I don't." He answered as he flopped down on the bed. He much preferred futons on the floor, but a year in London where they only had elevated beds forced him to like beds. But if there was a chance to sleep in a futon, he'd gladly pick that over this.

"You suppose?" He cleared his mind of beds and futons as he heard Houki pose another question at him. He nodded his head.

"It's not like it'll be difficult. From what I hear, and from what I experienced when an IS unit first reacted to me, it's like moving your own body. Granted an exoskeleton, but still part of your body." He relayed what information he had of controlling an IS unit. But when he looked up at her, he was met with Houki blank face.

"…You're going into a death match inside a suit that amplifies human cognitive and motor movement… without knowing how to pilot one of those suits?" She asked him, her tone dead even as she stared at him. He grimaced at her tone. That's one way of putting it…

"Alright." He snapped out of his thoughts as he saw Houki turn away from his gaze to plop down on her own bed. She clapped her hands, and the divider in between the beds popped out from the wall, separating them and blocking their views of each other. "Tomorrow after school, you're coming with me to the dojo. Don't be late." She said without much preamble.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" He asked her as he sat up. Houki didn't answer him, he could hear the faint noise of the bed sheets turning, signifying that either A: she was turning away from him, probably to ignore all his questions, or B: she had slipped under the blanket, where she would probably ignore all his questions. Either way, she didn't sound like she was going to answer any questions. Her last words were more a declaration/order to him to do what she said than a suggestion anyway.

Knowing that trying to pry more information from Houki would be useless, he sighed before he got under his own blanket. Hopefully, his mind wouldn't wander back towar-

"Hey, Shirou?" He heard Houki call out his name. He didn't move from his position, facing away from the divider, but he did turn his head to look towards it.

"Yeah?" He answered her, he wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon. But Houki's words were slightly slurred. Indicating that she would be the first to fall asleep between them.

"Why save Cecilia?" She asked him. The question was easy enough to answer, he didn't even think about it as he opened his lips and told her why.

"Because everyone is worth saving." It was a doctrine to him now. To answer 'Why save…' his answer would always be 'Because it's worth it.'.

"So you'll save Cecilia from her father?" His eyes widened at Houki's words. Did she know? He didn't even tell her in the first place. How could she-

"I overheard you talking on the phone. The public phones in the administration building aren't exactly a good place to hold private conversations." He was slightly dubious at her words. There were dividers that blocked the phones from the others, and he was pretty sure that there was no one else there in the morning since there were classes… Come to think of it, how could Houki have overheard anyway? She should have been in class at the time.

"I was worried…" He heard her answer his untold question. "Even though you think of me as only an acquaintance, you're my friend Shirou." That… that made him feel bad. He didn't exactly think of Houki as only an acquaintance. Certainly, they weren't best friends, but then. He didn't know anything about Houki, aside from the fact that she does Kendo, has a genius sister, and is generally shy to those she doesn't know. She also does have her strict side, something that vaguely resembled Orimura-sensei's own sometimes.

"So even if you're not worried about me, I'll worry about you. If you ever go over the line, expect me to come and try and set you straight." Now he really did feel bad. Here was a girl that was willing to worry about him, and she thought, no, she _knew_ he wouldn't reciprocate the same towards her.

He couldn't help it, he sighed. Rather audibly. But before Houki could get the wrong idea, he spoke up. "Sorry. I guess I never really thought of it like that. That you'd still be a friend to me, even though I try to distance myself. Kinda makes me look like an ass." He laughed at his description of himself. Truth be told, both Luvia _and_ Rin had agreed, he was an ass sometimes.

"But I'll try my best. If you think of me as a friend, I'll try to be yours." He told her cleanly as he returned his gaze towards the wall parallel to him. "And to answer your question Houki, I'll save Cecilia from her father, and herself."

"Because everyone is worth saving?" She answered with his own words. He smirked.

"Especially from themselves." With that, he closed his eyes. He didn't need to think now. There was only one path, he would save Cecilia. Whether from her father, or from herself. He'd make sure that she'd be saved. It wasn't going to be easy, but hopefully, it wouldn't be as hard as saving himself.

**XxX**

It was a Saturday today, which meant that classes were over at noon. But the thing was, the class was something that he forgot completely about.

It was the day for IS piloting lessons.

As part of the curriculum, new students that were still in their freshman years had one day of mandatory piloting lessons. Seeing that everyone in this Academy were scouted by making them pilot an IS, everyone is expected to learn. The only thing that differentiated the ones that knew how to pilot an IS, to the ones that were scouted by sheer dumb luck would become obvious when this class kicked off. The ones that had some knowledge of how to pilot would breeze through the preliminaries of getting in the base IS unit that the Academy provided, and would take off into the sky in a matter of seconds. While those that either had no idea how to pilot an IS, or were relatively new to piloting one would take some time trying to get the IS unit in the air.

As it stands, he was part of the latter group, as he didn't exactly know how to pilot one, and the only exposure he really had was a brief fifteen to twenty minutes. And that awhile ago.

"Emiya, Shirou." He heard his name get called by his homeroom teacher. Oddly enough, Chifuyu seemed to be part of every class they were on. Whether it be math, to physics, to mechanical engineering, and now to piloting. He chalked it up to her being a hard working teacher that cared for her students, but from the casual insults she had been giving the class since day one, he highly doubted that was the reason at all.

He took careful strides as he approached the base IS unit called the Uchigane. It wasn't really a base IS, it was a highly-rated 2nd generation frame. Unlike the IS units today, the Uchigane wasn't much to look at. It resembled an armored samurai with green armor, and while the thing focused on defense and stability, it lacked power to be used properly in war scenarios… Not like there was any war that involved IS… but you never know.

The Uchigane also had another characteristic that differentiated it from the more modern units. It lacked a core.

Well, it didn't lack a core per se, it was more like it shared a core. All the units of the Uchigane were based off of one core called the Uchigane. The reason why the Uchigane wasn't used to develop a bigger, faster and stronger IS was simple. It lacked the power to. Add to the fact that it was easy to use to mass produce frames based on it, and then it was a simple matter of supplying the Academy materials needed to mass produce green training IS units.

He mentally thanked Houki again. Really, he wouldn't have known all this stuff if she didn't tutor him yesterday.

Taking one final step forward, he finally arrived in front of the dormant unit. Giving it a once over, he turned towards the instructor, a young woman in her late twenties with auburn hair. He idly recalled that she introduced herself as Kaoru, before he reached out his hand and tapped it on the IS. They were instructed to do so to allow the unit itself to recognize them as the pilot, all you had to do was tap your hand on any part of the unit, and it will react to you.

…

….

…..

So why wasn't it reacting to him?

"That's odd." He heard Kaoru-sensei mutter. "That usually doesn't happen. The Uchigane usually isn't picky about the pilots themselves." She spoke as if the IS had souls and were capable of thoughts and free will. He didn't pay much attention to that. As he only had one question he wanted to answer to.

"So what no- gah?!" He didn't get to finish his sentence before the unit that he had tapped his hand on suddenly glowed and literally glomped him.

He felt the world spin as he was integrated into the IS unit, he could faintly hear his classmates shouting in shock and surprise, but he paid no mind to it as he was too busy trying to understand the situation he was in.

Okay, he was in the IS unit, that much he could tell. He moved his arms and legs, and he could feel _something_ attached to them, something heavy and large, but strangely light as his own body. He felt something was wrapped around his waist like a belt, and something wrapped around his forehead like a headband. He moved his head, and he could hear metal creaking as he did so. He moved his hips, first to the right, and then to the left, and he could feel the same thing he felt in his arms and legs on his waist as well.

It was… odd. The sensation of something heavy and large on your body that you normally couldn't carry, only to have it feel as if it was part of your own body and as light as well. He guessed that this was what it would have felt like if he had paid attention to when he was first 'glomped' by the White Knight core in that school.

He rolled his shoulders, and thankfully, it felt more natural now than a few seconds ago. Looks like he was growing accustomed to the sensation of having a body on a body.

"Well, that was unprecedented, but nonetheless. It looks like you're faring well with the Uchigane." He heard Kaoru's voice. He opened his eyes, and was surprised to see that he literally towered over her. In fact, he was surprised to see that he had a heads-up-display of some kind right in front of him. It showed a picture of Kaoru, her age, height, weight, hobbies. Anything that you would find in a fill it yourself questionnaire.

"You probably already noticed, but you have an HUD. It shouldn't impair your vision much; it should only show basic information in your peripheral. Now, I want you to carefully take a few steps forwa-" She didn't get to finish her sentence before he suddenly shot off like a rocket. Unwillingly.

He soared high into the air as he tried to take back control of his body. The big bold red letters saying 'Warning!' didn't help much with his concentration.

He felt the unit do a barrel roll upwards, before it began to go even crazier as it started going faster and faster high into the air. Thankfully, they were in the arena where the IS units were tested against each other, and where the students could get to practice their maneuvers. Meaning it was open air from here to the sky.

He felt the g-forces pushing him down as the IS started soaring higher and higher, its speed increasing at the same rate its altitude was going. His HUD was going haywire with warning signs, but he didn't pay much attention to them still as he was too busy trying to regain whatever control he had to the arms and feet.

He could see the clouds getting closer and closer, until finally, he entered them. He could feel the moisture on his body, that…. That was bad. Really bad. If he didn't stop, he'd be so high into the air that it'd be cold, cold enough to get hypothermia. And with his now wet body and still flying unit, the wind and cold would probably freeze him to death.

Desperately, he tried harder to stop, but the IS was unresponsive. It wasn't reacting at all to him.

"Damn it! Stop will you!" He ordered in vain, the IS seemed to have a mind of its own. It didn't stop, even as he struggled. He couldn't move his arms, or his legs. He was at the mercy of the unit.

But then, as abruptly it took off, it suddenly stopped.

The unit slowed to a halt, and as it reached the apex of its flight, he was given a clear view of the sun over the clouds as he could see the blankness of space. He glanced down, and he was met with the seemingly infinite sky of the Earth as it stretched out towards the horizon.

It was beautiful.

But then, gravity still existed. So as the IS suddenly stopped without leaving the atmosphere, he was still in the Earth's gravitational field. Which meant only one thing. He had to fall.

He began descending, at first, it was slow. But like the abrupt flight he had, it steadily grew in speed before it was almost unbearable. Thankfully, he was low enough to not have the Earth burn him up like he was a meteor crashing onto Earth. But at the rate he was going, he suspected that he would die if he landed, water or no.

"Crap!" He shouted as he tried to move his arms. Which surprisingly enough, moved as he did. Come to think of it, his legs were moving as well. Hips twisted, shoulders rolled.

"All systems go huh." He read the big green letters that flashed in front of his face before he mentally dismissed it. Thankfully it did. So that meant one thing, he had control back.

He spread his arms and legs; he needed as much air resistance as possible. But even then, he was still going too fast, if he landed now, he would break his spine if not his legs, water or no.

"This is bad!" He couldn't help but shout out the obvious. It wouldn't help, hell, it was completely useless to do so. But it did tell him that, yes, you are screwed unless you do something.

So he did do something. He didn't know what would happen if he tried to use magic in an IS, but right now, he didn't have time to think.

"Trace On!" He shouted as he felt the gun in his head shoot.

What he needed wasn't a weapon. What he needed was a tool. A large tool that would give him as much air resistance as possible. And he had just the thing.

It was a shield. It wasn't a Noble Phantasm, not by any means. It was only a shield. A really large shield that was wielded by a Scandinavian berserker. Normally a berserker would use a sword and just plow forward, killing everything in their wake. But the berserker that wielded this shield was small, exceptionally small even for a man.

He was a runt, only five feet two inches, he belonged more in the backlines as a courier than in the front lines as a berserker. But his shield was the one that gave him the title of berserker.

The shield was square in shape, and stretched six feet by six feet. It was made of wood, and was thick enough to stop arrow fire. The man had used this shield to help get his colleagues to their enemies. He had made the shield himself, and he used it only once. He didn't exactly like Projecting anything other than swords, it did cost three times as much Prana after all, but the situation called for some creating thinking.

It was large, and it was square. It was exactly what he needed.

Except it didn't appear. He felt his od start forming the shield, but it wasn't anywhere near him. In fact, it didn't look like it was forming at all! But that couldn't be right, his reserves were getting drained, it should be here!

"Damn!" He shouted as he neared the ground. There was no helping it; he would have to land as is. He could already see the ground and his classmates on the ground. With his eyesight, he could make out they were all pointing up at him and shouting. Of course, he couldn't hear what they were shouting, and at this point, he couldn't care less.

He needed to land some distance from them. He didn't want to crush someone other than his own legs at what he was about to do.

Maneuvering himself, he spotted a clearing where there were no students just outside of the arena. He angles himself just right so that he would land right on the grass, where there was only open space and no trees that he might hit on the way down.

He braced himself as he neared the ground, he estimated that it would take another ten seconds before he landed. He bent his knees, and he put his arms close to his chest. Hopefully, rolling as you land cushioned the fall applied to IS units as well.

Three seconds, and he was sure he would at least get broken legs.

Finally he landed. He felt the impact as he rolled forward, making sure to use his hands to push him off the ground so as to not keep rolling. He felt his legs brush against the ground, and he could feel his back scratch it as he did so.

Miraculously, he stopped rolling after he rolled forward once. Even more amazing was the fact that he had no broken bones, and the ground barely looked damaged.

"Emiya!" He heard Kaoru shout and he looked up. To see that she was in her own Uchigane suit, her eyes filled with worry as she landed right next to him. He allowed himself to be looked over, before he straightened himself and let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm okay." He gave the instructor a clear answer. Truthfully, he was surprised he was okay at all. That fall should have at least broken his legs; the worst would be his spine. Yet he was here, standing on two feet, like the high altitude fall didn't have any effect aside from scaring him.

"That's the first time that happened." The instructor muttered. Behind her, he could see his classmates clambering around as they stared at him and the instructor. He scanned the crowd, and saw Houki's relieved face. That must have scared her something fierce. But as his eyes kept scanning, he saw someone that was openly scowling, as if she wanted him to get injured at least.

It was no surprise to him that the face belonged to Cecilia.

"Come on Emiya," He heard Kaoru speak up. "Get out of the suit. Tell your classmates class is dismissed for the day. I'll have the mechanics go over all the Uchigane units we've burrowed for the day. I don't want a repeat of what happened. Fortunately for you, IS units are designed to withstand forces greater than that."

Translation: You were never in any danger.

Sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about holding up the class Sensei." He tilted his head in a slight bow.

"Don't worry about it Emiya. At least you're safe. Lord knows what would happen if the only male IS pilot died under my watch." Kaoru dismissed his apology as if it didn't really matter. "Now get out of the suit and tell your classmates class is dismissed. We'll have a make-up class sometime next week, but right now, go do whatever you want."

With her words, he nodded his head. Before he looked down on the suit he was.

He stretched his hand and stared at it. To think that something this old could handle forces like a high altitude drop. He didn't think even Saber would have survived a fall from behind the clouds. If these IS were as strong as they were, it was no surprise why the world agreed with the Alaska Treaty. The opportunity for M.A.D would skyrocket if these were ever put into the front lines.

As his thoughts wandered back to the IS however, he suddenly remembered something. He turned towards his instructor, sheepishly smiling at her as he scratched the back of his head.

"Erm…" He paused, trying to put this in a way he wouldn't be embarrassed. "..How do I get out of this thing again?"

Too bad, whatever his words were, he would still be embarrassed.

**XxX**

**Damn it! I wanted to put this out last year! Or at least, on the first day of this year. But damn, this was harder to write than usual. Between the Christmas parties and the new year parties, I barely had enough time to write this chapter on my computer. I have no laptop because I'm dirt poor, but still…**

**I have no words for this chapter. I just want to put this out as fast as I can. So here you guys go. Belated Happy new year guys. Hope we all have a good one.**

**Also, didn't have time to proofread this. Feel free to point out all the mistakes you guys see. But do keep yourselves from being mean m'kay?**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


	9. Friends and Butlers

**Edit: January 11 2015. Fixed some grammatical errors, changed Luvia's nationality to Finnish, and fixed some mistakes I've made that will hopefully help things go smoothly.**

**Lawyer Tom: Alright, here's the deal. They say you can have the rights to both Infinite Stratos and Fate/Stay Night.**

**Really?! That's awesome!**

**Lawyer Tom: The only thing is, you don't earn any money from it, and you can't write anything about it. That means you can't add ideas, and you can't add more characters.**

**What?! Then why the hell would I have the rights!**

**Lawyer Tom: Because I'm a good lawyer.**

**I'd rather just keep writing Fics about them then have that sorry excuse of rights to it.**

**Lawyer Tom: Then you know what to say.**

**I own nothing.**

**Holy pepperoni Batman! Deadpool just stole kryptonite so he can kill Thor with a green lantern ring!**

**I probably annoyed many a comic book enthusiast with those words. Hehe.**

**Anyway, this chapter is where things really pick up. Hopefully, it'll get to the day of the fight, so the next chapter has the fight itself. But worst case, the fight will be on chapter ten. So don't get your hopes up, I'm like a knight who says ni anyway.**

**Kudos to you if you got the reference.**

**XxX**

"How does this help with piloting an IS?" He meant for the question to stay inside his head, but it did not, the situation was so incredulous he couldn't help but utter the question lingering in his mind.

Houki frowned at him, before she threw a bamboo sword she had gotten from the rack near the entrance of the dojo. She too was carrying a shinai, and she looked quite confident with it if he had to make an observation. Her back was straighter, her gaits were longer, and her eyes held certain sharpness to it that it lacked whenever they were in class or just talking.

He deftly caught the bamboo sword, looking at it as if it were something foreign; he directed a questioning look towards Houki.

Her frown deepened. "You said it yourself. An IS is an extension of your body, and the more you have control of your body, the more you can control an IS." She repeated his words from before.

It was his turn to frown. Yes, he did say that, and yes, he was pretty sure the more coordinated you were with your body, the more you could control an IS unit.

But the problem wasn't his coordination at all, the problem was the fact that any IS that came close proximity to him reacted like he was an electron magnet. And not only that, he barely had any practice with real IS at all. The fact that he was launched upwards up to 30'000 feet in the air, where the atmosphere was thinning out, and the blankness of space was visible, was the problem. He didn't do all those things willingly. It was the IS acting out some strange order. Or maybe it had just gone haywire… Whatever the case, he needed to be inside an IS to figure out the problem. An IS reacting to him like that only happened twice, and he needed a third to confirm that it really did happen every time.

So you can just imagine his face when Houki had offered help in training with an IS, only to have her just keep hitting him with a bamboo sword. It wasn't like he couldn't defend himself mind you, but he was as coordinated with his body as he could be. He wagered he could even pick up a key with his toes and then use that key to unlock a lock on top of his head with no hand movement. Add to the fact that some of his moves required him to have as much hand-eye coordination as possible to avoid injuries that could stab his eyes out, or just straight out impale his right lung. Kanshou and Bakuya came to mind, the Crane Wing Realm was a very straining technique that required the user to have knowledge of where and when the two blades would meet, and when he should send out another batch. If he was too early, the first Projected pair of blades would miss the target completely and head back towards him, forcing him to defend against his own attack. If he was too late, the first pair would miss completely and his second pair would follow suit. All in all, he really didn't need coordination lessons.

"Listen, Houki. About thi- whoa!" He didn't get to finish his sentence as Houki suddenly charged forward, her sword raised above her head before he proceeded to come down.

He jumped back just in time to avoid getting hit. He gave Houki an incredulous glare. "What was th-?!" Again he was interrupted as Houki continued to go on the offensive. This time, slashing the shinai sideways so as to strike his ribs.

He twisted his body just enough to make the shinai brush past his jacket uniform, before his instincts took over and he proceeded to counter with an underhand sweep upwards.

He knew that it was a fast attack, and even though he was ambidextrous, his right arm and hand was slightly faster in regards to hitting things. As it was, he was sure that the attack would hit Houki's chin, as she couldn't possibly have seen him move his right arm fast enough to dodge the attack.

He was surprised however, to suddenly have a weight holding down his own shinai. He looked down, and he was greeted with the sight of Houki's own shinai over his in a cross formation. Her right arm struggled to keep his shinai in place. He would have pulled up, but he lacked the strength to so since he had no leverage and Houki had it in ample amounts.

So instead of countering or attacking, he jumped back to gain some distance from her. He was amazed at her reaction speed, he was sure that the sweep upwards would hit her and she would just tell him that he was coordinated enough and get an IS unit to help him. But now he was having second thoughts.

True, he wasn't reinforced, nor was he Tracing any kind of weapon inside his head to augment his own abilities. But as it stood, he was taught by a teacher that told him to take whatever openings he could, and try and bait your opponents into taking subtle openings in his own form. The fighting style he was accustomed to was akin to suicide if used wrong, but thankfully, he was quite adept with it. He would even go so far as to say he's mastered it to some extent.

But Houki… She countered his invisible counter.

Nodding towards Houki, he straightened himself. Which the younger woman across the dojo reciprocated. He then turned around and went over towards a spare rack with some extra shinais leaning onto it. He picked out one that was close identical to the one he held on his right, he gave it a few practice swings, before he nodded and turned around and returned to his previous spot across from Houki.

"Are you sure you can use two?" It was a simple question with honest meaning. She probably thought that using two swords was hard, and only masters really got around to using any style that used two. It was simply logic as to why. If you lacked coordination to use two, most likely you would cut off your own arm than your enemies.

He gave her a mysterious smirk. "Why don't you find out?" He taunted her, His teacher's attitude that had brushed off him resurfacing as he remembered his time spent with that snarky individual. He had probably spent so much time with the guy that he could have subconsciously put some of his nasty habits into him, like the taunting.

He cleared his head, there was no time for thinking about anything else. He was in a fight… and his opponent was right in front of him.

He breathed in, before he settled both shinai parallel to his body, their 'blades' raised as his grip pointed the hilt downwards. He caught sight of Houki raising an eyebrow at him, as if asking him 'are you sure?'

He nodded, and Houki launched herself towards him.

He raised both swords to block Houki's shinai in an X formation, but withheld the Shinai in his left hand as he saw Houki redirect her attack to a side blow. The shinai in his left hand met with Houki's own, and the sound of hard grass meeting hard grass echoed around the dojo.

He didn't give Houki any time to recover as he pressed his attack, raising his right shinai over his head to strike down at Houki's head. Houki deftly dodged it by sidestepping to the left, before she entered into his personal space to try and deliver a sweep that would hit his chest.

Normally, this kind of attack would have made any self-respecting swordsman curse at their stupidity for making an obvious hole in their defense. But not him. And though he didn't consider himself a swordsman at all and he lacked pride in his techniques, he couldn't help but smirk slightly at how much better he was than most with just this one style. Not because of pride, but because it made some missions very easy.

Houki's shinai drew close to his chest, and he noticed that Houki had looked slightly disappointed that he had been duped so easily. Heh, time to give her a show.

Houki's shinai was millimeters from his chest, before it was suddenly stopped by an opposing force. A force that stopped it not in the middle, but from the edge of the bamboo sword.

Houki looked to her right in surprise, and her eyes widened in realization at what he had done. He didn't give her time to think it over however as his counterattack was already in motion via his right shinai that had pulled back and was close to hitting the side of Houki's face.

He was sure it was going to hit, but again Houki surprised him. Instead of ducking like he expected her too, she instead pulled her shinai closer to her body and raised it just in time to stop his own shinai from hitting the side of her face.

He watched as she slid the base of her shinai along his own. He cursed as she maneuvered it just enough to slip past the guard and hit his hand, forcing him to momentarily let go of his shinai. The momentary lapse in his grip gave Houki the perfect chance to hit him as her own shinai's blunt edge was pointed at his face and was heading straight for it.

He clucked his tongue as he moved his right hand and caught the falling shinai in a reverse-grip, before he hastily raised it up along with his left shinai to try and redirect the attack by sandwiching it between his own two. It worked just fine, and Houki's shinai was now trapped in between both of his and 3 centimeters from his right ear.

Houki struggled under the grip his two shinai had on her own, but he didn't give her much time to do so as he flipped the shinai in his left hand into another reverse-grip before he pushed it forward slightly as he pulled his right arm backwards. Houki's eyes widened in realization at what he was doing, but before she could do anything to stop it. He pushed down on both shinai.

Seeing as his left shinai was close to the base of Houki's and his right shinai was near the edge of it, the counteracting forces would force Houki's shinai to spin or break under the pressure. It was a simple maneuver that he didn't get to do much. After all, you couldn't just try and break a metal sword that was 3 centimeters away from your face into pieces without getting injured yourself.

But as it stood, the 'sword' that was close to his face wasn't made of metal, but of bamboo. It was flexible, but it did still have a breaking point, and if Houki didn't let go soon, the shinai would break and she would find herself with no weapon to defend herself against his sure counterattack. Hey, she attacked him without warning, it was only fair to return the favor by keeping the offensive. Gender equality and all.

But again Houki surprised him, instead of letting go of her weapon or even tightening her hold on it and yanking it away, she instead let go of one hand and yanked at his now outstretched left arm. The pull was so rough and abrupt that he didn't have time to plant his toes on the ground to steady himself. So he found himself falling forward towards Houki, who's eyes had brightened somewhat as she finally got her shinai free from his prison.

Re-balancing himself with one foot, he pushed against the wooden ground as Houki's shinai was brought down again towards him. It missed him by inches, and thankfully, he had jumped back a good distance away that he could react to whatever Houki would do next.

As he straightened himself from landing, he gave Houki an appraising eye. "You have really good instincts Houki." He complimented her. "Your reaction time is amazing and your sword style is solid." It was true after all, she was an amazing swordswoman. She wasn't afraid to use her sword in an unorthodox manner to catch her opponent off-guard and allow herself new openings that would open when she did so.

Houki reciprocated his appreciating eye with an appreciating smile. "I could say the same to you," She told him. "Your style could be attributed to suicide if you don't know what you're doing, but obviously you do, and obviously we're pretty evenly matched right now."

Nodding at her praise, he lowered himself as he reversed his hold on the shinai in both his hands. Turning them right side up before he placed them by his sides once more. This time though, instead of a smirk adorning his face, he could feel a small smile begin to creep up on it.

From that relatively short exchange (He said relatively because the exchange lasted for minutes for him, but in actuality it lasted nothing more than ten seconds for any observers.), he and Houki had seen through the other's fighting style and was adapting to make it work to their advantage and to their opponents disadvantage. If he couldn't feel a connection with Houki before, there was now. Maybe all it took was to cross-swords? Maybe all they needed was to fight to grow closer? Either way, he could appreciate Houki apprising him as if they were equals, and that they were now training together instead of her training him.

He let out a small dry chuckle at the thought. Looks like Houki was only smarter than him, well, he could live with that. He had lived with women smarter than him for awhile now, and Houki was certainly a breath of fresh air.

She treated him like they were equals, and unlike Rin, who treated him like she was on a plane higher than him, and Sakura, who treated him like he was on a pedestal, or even Rider, who didn't care at all, Houki was one of the first people that actually treated him like they were on equal footing.

He could appreciate that, he could appreciate Houki, and he could appreciate their friendship.

"You can fight," He heard Houki call out to him, a challenging smirk on her face as she stared at him. "But how long can you last before you flop down on the ground? An hour and a half maybe?"

He smirked at her jab. She was egging him on. Looks like Houki had a competitive streak. Well, he'd gladly oblige her. "Maybe, but I'd be more worried about you." He told her, and he pulled up his shinai to his chest, his left hand forward, while his right hand close to his chest.

Houki tensed as she saw him move, good, she knew that any move one makes would most likely be an attack. This is gonna be fun. "And why is that?" She asked him.

"Because…" He paused as he took a deep breath, steadying himself as he prepared his legs to kick off the ground. "I'm not holding back!" He charged.

And thus, their shinai met, they would continue to beat each other senseless for hours on end, but to them, it felt more like an hour would only pass as they tested each other.

**Mechanized Magus**

**XxX**

Stifling a yawn as he walked through the crowed streets of the city, he couldn't help but roll his shoulders as he felt the muscles in them keep unwinding.

It had only been a day since he had the little accident with the Uchigane, and a day since his match with Houki, and he could feel the strain the two things did on his body. From the absolutely terrifying 30'000 feet free fall, to Houki's repeated attacks on his body. He couldn't quite help but feel sore as he walked through the crowed street that led to the mall in the city that had a monorail that transported students to the Academy itself.

He didn't quite understand the awesomeness of the situation itself. The Academy had an entire island to itself, with the buildings only occupying the one side of the island while the other was designated for drills from the upper years. The island itself was quite large, and though he didn't know the exact measurements of it, he could estimate that it was quite a ways larger than Fuyuki city itself.

And though the island was disconnected from mainland Japan, there was still a monorail for the students to go to and fro from the island to the nearest city. Though the students would only have one day to escape the Academy every week, namely every Sunday which was a designated free day for everyone, it was a welcome relief for the students as the curriculum that the Academy gave out was quite hard to pick up unless you really studied.

As it stood however, he wasn't on a break. He wasn't in the city for rest and relaxation, and he most certainly wasn't going to the mall for shopping. He was going to meet a friend there, who hopefully had answers to some of his questions.

He had contacted him via crystal bird, and he was immensely relieved to find out that it wasn't spotted by anyone as it had flew directly into his and Houki's room and perched itself on his shoulder. Thankfully, Houki had been in the bathroom taking a bath at the time and hadn't seen it, but as it was, the abruptness of the thing appearing scared the crap out of him.

After the bird relayed its message to him, it suddenly shattered. Eliciting a surprised shout from him, and making Houki shout from the bathroom if he was alright. He responded that he was, and that he just broke something and was going to clean it up.

But still, to have her contact him so brazenly was odd. Sure she was on the extravagant side, but she was just as paranoid as Rin sometimes.

Stretching absent mindlessly as he turned a corner, he saw his destination in his sight. It was still relatively early in the morning right now, only 9:00 if the clock that hung on the wall on the sidewalk could be trusted, but even then the number of people coming and going was rather numerous in itself even though it was a Sunday.

However, he was suddenly blocked off from going any further by a sudden appearance of a yellow fo- wait, was there a person under that fox?

"Ohhh!" He took a step back in alarm as the fox suddenly talked. Refocusing on the 'thing' in front of him, he found that it was a person – not a fox like he previously thought – with a hoodie that had fox ears sprouting right up from the hood itself, the fact that she was wearing the hood over her head didn't help him with thinking that she wasn't a fox at all. "It's Emi-tan!"

He blinked, wait. Did he know her from somewhe- ah! "Nohotoke-san right?" He asked her, to which the girl responded by nodding her head. The fox ears on the hood wagging as she did so… how did she do that?

"Yep! That's me!" She said cheerfully as she raised her hands in the air, revealing that the hoodie she was wearing was several times bigger than she was. Even the sleeves were too long for her arms. As it stood, she barely reached up to his chest at all.

He blinked, and he couldn't quite stop the next words from escaping his lips. He pointed at her hoodie and asked. "Aren't you warm in that?"

The girl only replied to him by tilting her head to the side and pouting whilst her 'ears' began moving as if they reflected her annoyance at the question. "Mouuu~ why does everyone ask that?" She complained to him, and he laughed sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry," He apologized. She seemed to have an attachment to her hoodie, and bringing up its bad points was something she didn't like. "I just couldn't help but ask."

She pouted again, and this time, her 'ears' flopped down onto the cloth below it almost like a dog would if they were placated. "Honne will forgive you if you play with her!" She was talking in third person now? Odd girl.

"Sorry Nohotoke-san, I can't play right now. I need to meet someone." He told her as he smiled down at her, trying to look convincing.

She scrunched up her face as she stared at him, and for a moment, he thought she would try and force him to play (who still plays at her age anyway?) with her. But as her mouth opened say whatever she wanted to say, another voice came from their left.

"Geez Honne-chan! Don't just run off like that!" He tilted his head to get a better look at who had called out for his classmate, only to find another classmate of his running over towards them both. Trailing behind her was also another classmate, and judging from their faces, they were obviously exasperated, he wagered it involved the fox right in front of him.

"Oiiii Hanako-chaaaan~!" Honne turned towards the voice and shouted in a cheery tone, raising her right arm over her head as she began waving at their approaching classmates. He purposely ignore the moving 'ears' for fear of finding out if they were real or not. "Look, look! Emi-tan is here too! I knew it was him walking when I saw him! The red hair is so hard to miss!"

He couldn't help but give Honne a small smile. She was certainly cheery this morning, chock full of energy and was friendly to boot. And judging from her friends faces, they were either used to chasing her around all day, or just chose to ignore it and just let it go with the flow. But from the way they were running over, he guessed that it was the former rather than the latter.

"Ah! Emiya-kun!" The one that had shouted – Hanako – suddenly began slowing to a stop, her breath hitching as she tried to catch it. Her long black hair looked disheveled, and the hair-clips attached to the side of it had become messy, the three were now crisscrossing each other and made her hair look even more disheveled.

In contrast to Hanako's tired form, the woman behind her barely even looked winded. Her short chestnut hair only reached up to her shoulders, and the headband on top of it that kept bangs from blocking her view was still firmly in place on top of her head. He did a mental checklist in his head, and he realized that this was Kanon… He sheepishly admitted that he didn't remember both women's last names.

Finally catching her breath, Hanako straightened herself from her slumped form and mock glared at Honne with fake indignation. "You didn't need to run all the way here Honne-chan! We could have walked!" She reprimanded Honne, but he could tell that it was more a formality for her to do so at this point, and was very used to Honne's antics.

So it didn't surprise him to find Honne ignoring her reprimands all together. "Hey, hey! Why don't we invite Emi-tan with us today? Is that okay?" Honne asked Hanako as she gripped the latter's sleeve with her hands still inside the overly long sleeves. He didn't need to say so, but aside from Honne - who had a hoodie to hide what she was wearing – the other women were wearing typical outdoor clothes for use to go somewhere to relax.

"Eh?" Hanako replied as she looked at Honne with wide-eyes. She turned towards the other observer, Kanon, who had been silent observing the entire thing happening in front of her eyes. He saw Kanon shrug, before Hanako turned her eyes back towards Honne, who was smiling and staring at Hanako with eye's clothes.

"B-but I think Emiya-kun already has plans…" Hanako said weakly, turning towards him with a questioning look. Deciding that she would save his poor indecisive classmate, he nodded at her.

"Sorry, but I have to meet someone right now. I'll take you up on the offer if you're still here later though." He told them. He didn't normally go out with people, he much preferred to stay inside and practice his magecraft after all, but it couldn't hurt to have a connection with his classmates.

"Yey! Emi-tan is going on a date with us!" He bucked when Honne shouted those words, but gave her a strained smile. She was certainly something.

"Honne-chan! Don't just shout like that!" Hanako reprimanded Honne, but it fell on deaf ears as Honne had literally disappeared from her place… again.

"Wha-?! Kanon-chan! Did you see where Honne went?" Hanako turned towards the still silent Kanon, who only pointed towards the direction she noticed Honne ran off to.

True enough, he could see the tell-tale sign of Honne's hood with fox ears bouncing towards that direction. "You better hurry," He warned the two women, who were still trying to look for her through the small crowd. "She looks like she'll- Oh, wait, never mind. She already did." He saw Honne turn a corner, running past it at full speed, preventing him from seeing her anymore.

"Ah! Honne!" Hanako shouted as she ran towards where Kanon had pointed. She abruptly stopped however, before she turned around and faced him, before bowing to him. "I'm sorry Emiya-kun, thank you for the offer, but at this rate we won't be meeting later." Hanako apologized profusely before turning back around and running.

He turned towards the silent Kanon, who was still silently staring at him. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Aren't you going after them?" He asked her.

Silence was her response. Kanon didn't even turn to him to indicate that she heard him at all. But when he was about to call out to her, she suddenly spoke up. "Promise. Later."

That was all she said before she was off. Running after Hanako at a pace that told him that she was fit and ran for a hobby. He couldn't help but smile at the antics of his three classmates. It was a random meeting, serendipity if you will, but it had still given him some insight to some of the women that were his classmates. They were eccentric – Honne -, they were precautious – Hanako -, and they were silent – Kanon -. But at the same time, they seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces. The only problem was, the puzzle was still blank to him, so maybe just meeting with them later really couldn't hurt. They were interesting, to say the least.

Shaking his head fondly, he turned back towards the direction he was originally going towards, the coffee shop that was the designated meeting place. Hopefully, she was under a compulsion charm and had a small bounded field on her table…

But as he entered the place, he had to release a heavy sigh. Yeah, that was really a long shot. He had forgotten that unlike Rin, who was rather frugal with her money and was relatively humble with her looks. _She _was less frugal with her money, and that made her stand out.

"It's about time you got here." She shouted in English from across the room, thankfully, the other occupants of the room didn't pay any attention to her… As their attention was already on her from the start. Instead, they turned towards who she had addressed her words to, and he had to duck his head and sigh.

"You don't have to shout you know." He responded in English as he began walking towards her table. Towards the woman in the royal blue dress with golden curly hair and bright brown eyes. The air around the woman couldn't be ignored; in fact, it refused to be ignored at all. And unlike Rin, who didn't emphasize her beauty and allowed others to just watch and admire it silently, the woman in front of him was different. She was extravagant, and her beauty and the way she carried herself made others flock towards her and admire her beauty up close. "I would have gotten here sooner or later."

She frowned at him, but that was to the casual observer. The face she was making was akin to a pout to him, he knew how she worked, how she responded, and how she did things. So her response wasn't something he wasn't expecting either. She was impatient when she really couldn't wait for something. "But I wanted to see you sooner." See?

He sighed. He didn't know why he bothered; she was just as stubborn as Rin. "Fine." He amended. She gave him a bright smile before she stood up and started to remove the white glove on her right hand. She began to approach him, smiling all the way, before she finally stopped in front of him. She then held out her hand, indicating that he should take it.

He couldn't help but sigh again, before a small smile appeared on his face. It wasn't degrading for him to do this, it was really more of a privilege than an embarrassment if he had to admit. He thought about the attention they were getting, before he removed all thoughts of that in his mind. He really couldn't stop the attention they were going to get, as she was with him, attention was bound to follow them wherever they went. Oddly enough however, she can be rather stealthy if she wanted to.

He took her dainty hand in his calloused ones, before he raised it to his lips and kissed the back of it. His working persona whenever he was with her taking the forefront of his mind. "At your service Lady Luvia."

Yeah, from the way that everyone in the coffee shop began whispering to each other, trying to lay low and not attracting attention was now impossible.

**XxX**

"Such tacky clothes you're wearing." He struggled to comprehend what she had said. True, he was versed with English, but he wasn't fluent in it. For example, he had no idea what the word 'tacky' meant. He could guess from the way Luvia was looking at him however, that it meant ugly. Or at least, something close to ugly.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Unlike you Luvia, I don't like to stand out." He had since reverted to his regular personality; he wasn't working for her, at least not today. And she had made it painfully clear that if he wasn't her butler, he would be her friend. So speaking on a first name basis, while not really uncommon overseas, was something that came naturally for the two of them.

"Hmph. I do not like to stand out. I merely spend money to bolster my image." She let out a dignified snort. How she could make a snort look and sound dignified, he never figured out how. "If you did, you would make many a woman swoon over you. You are quite dashing if you dress right, I can attest to that statement. I quite like the way you look in your suit."

He gave her a small smile. He appreciated the compliment, especially from a beautiful woman such as Luvia. But he didn't think himself handsome, at least, compared to the next guy. He was just regular in his own eyes, and he didn't really mind being just regular.

"But I guess looks don't matter now anyway," He frowned as he heard Luvia's tone turn slightly bitter. "I take it you have women flocking to you in that Academy." She gave him a sour look as she raised her head in mock haughtiness.

He raised an eyebrow at the way she was acting, what did she mean by that? Women flocking to him? In the Academy? True, Iori had told him that women were generally curious about him, and had taken a shine to him. But he hardly had any women approach him at all. In fact, aside from the meeting outside with Honne and her friends, he could count only three instances where women approached him to talk to him. One was two days ago, when he had run out of the library with a book he hadn't checked out, and the two other times by Cecilia who wanted to reprimand him for something or the other.

"I hardly think women are flocking towards me." He told her. "They just seem curious about my situation, I'm the-" He paused as he looked around. He gestured towards Luvia, who sighed before she slapped a gem on the underside of the table. He didn't question her when it stuck to the table, nor did he question what she did. He only gave her a brief nod. "I'm the first male IS pilot since it was made. So their curiosity isn't exactly unwarranted. But at the same time, they live their lives as if I wasn't there in the first place."

"You know, I don't know why you insisted on that bounded field." Luvia casually changed the subject, completely ignoring his statement in lieu for staring at the small coffee table that stood in front of them both. "But I'm guessing that you don't want anyone to know that you're an IS pilot?" She questioned him.

He wanted to say, 'Did you hear a word of what I said?' but knew better to do so. So instead of reprimanding Luvia's bad etiquette, he nodded his head. "One of the conditions I set for the Academy is that my identity be kept a secret. The world knows that there is a male IS pilot. They just don't know who." He caught the shine in Luvia's eyes. He nodded at her. "And I insisted on the bounded field because of other reasons that you should know." He shot her a pointed stare, to which she frowned in reply to.

"Do you really think so lowly of me Shirou?" She asked, her frown deepening. "I may like to stand out, I may like to be the center of attention, but I don't endanger my friends' lives by my flaunting. To do so would bring shame on me." She told him before she looked away; he barely caught a glimpse of her eyes, and noticed that she had a slightly pained expression to it.

He sighed. Maybe being around Rin and Luvia for so long made him paranoid, but aside from the perks of being paranoid, there were just as much, if not more, cons to it. This was one of those cons.

"Sorry," He said. "I didn't mean it like that, but you know-"

"That paranoia is often a good thing. Good, you're taking my lessons seriously." Luvia finished his sentence as she returned her gaze towards him. Silently picking up her teacup that had been sitting in front of her, ignored for the conversation they were having. He watched as she took a sip, talking as she did so. "And for your information Shirou, I'm quite certain that no one in the Tower knows that I'm here. I'm not quite-" She paused as she brought the teacup down, it's ceramics clicking against the plate where it once stood. He didn't blame her for getting quiet, admitting what she was admitting must have been hard for someone like Luvia. And Rin for that matter. "- not quite high in the Tower's hierarchy. At most I'm just a heir to a fairly old family that's in decline."

Taking her willingness to talk about her family standing as a go for talking about the Clock Tower, he spoke. "But even then, aren't they still cross with me? What I did wasn't exactly something they could easily forgive." He said. With the newly set-up bounded field around their table, they could speak freely, he didn't exactly know the extents of Luvia's bounded field, but he guessed that it would at least ensure privacy.

Again, Luvia let out a snort to his question. And again, it looked regally dainty. "You know full well that the only one cross with you is the Vice-Director." She told him cleanly, as if stating a fact. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Regardless, aren't they still looking for their little Archer?" He asked Luvia, who sighed as she heard his nickname.

"I guess they're rather cautious as to what Dead Apostle they can and can't hunt now that you're away. But from what I hear, the _Satshunjin-sha_ has been working three times harder now. With his red-eyed retainer close by." Luvia told him.

At any time, he would have laughed at Luvia's mispronunciation of the word Murderer in his language, but as it stood, his mood went down somewhat from hearing the name. "_Satsujin-sha_." He corrected her in Japanese. "And can we not mention him when you're talking with me? Please?" It wasn't like he didn't like his fellow Japanese student… well, that's exactly the case. But he didn't hate the blindfolded/bespectacled man! Don't get him wrong, it's just something about the guy that rubbed him the wrong way. Whenever they met in the hallways of the Clock Tower, they would at least treat each other with courtesy, but there was an underlying tension their. In fact, that any third party that would have seen them interacting thought that they were at each other's throats when they were outside the Clock Tower.

"Fine, fine." Luvia said dismissively. He didn't blame her for that kind of dismissal, he had told almost everyone that was close to him about the _Satsujin-sha, _Rin, Rider, Sakura, Luvia, anyone really that he could talk to him about. They knew of his dislike with the blindfolded man, and even told him that it wasn't like him to speak so lowly of anyone at all. He only responded with those words with a shrug, telling that he didn't know why, but it just came as natural as breathing to him.

"Anyway, aside from groaning that you're not there to help them, they aren't looking for you at all." Luvia reported as she picked up her teacup once more to take another sip of it. He idly noted that he had his own cup of coffee that was untouched right in front of him.

A few seconds of silence passed with Luvia taking silent sips of her tea, while he sat there, contemplating what Luvia had told him. It wasn't until Luvia spoke up again, did he look up from his gazing at his coffee cup.

"Now, onto more pressing matters," Luvia began as she replaced the cup on the table once more. The cup was now empty, and Luvia's tone and demeanor had taken a suddenly tense turn. "What's this I hear of you having a death match?" She asked him, and from the look she was giving him, he knew that he couldn't get out of talking about this with her.

So instead of trying to dodge the subject, he only shrugged. He was blunt with his friends. "Exactly as you've probably heard and discerned. This coming Wednesday, I'm going to fight with someone with our lives on the line." He said straightly and cleanly, looking into Luvia's eyes all the while she did so.

He waited for her reaction, which most likely included, but was not limited to, berating him, smacking him upside the head, or calling him an idiot… multiple times.

To his surprise however, she only sighed and shook her head. "That's unlike you." Was all she said before she looked away from him lazily. Which more than sent alarm bells ringing in his head. There was something wrong, that much was clear. Now the only thing left to figure out was what exactly was wrong.

"Is something wr-" He began but stopped himself as Luvia locked eyes with him, though she didn't turn her head at all. Her brown eyes locked with his own, and he knew right then and there, if he continued that sentence she would berate him. The same berating that she had done to him countless times before, both as he was her butler, and as he was her friend.

So what was wrong with that? If he continued his sentence, then everything would return to the status quo with both of them. Nothing would change, and he would know what was wrong…

And yet, he felt he already should have known something was wrong. So without much preamble, he thought of what was wrong. Trying to figure out why Luvia's eyes took on a distant look in them, why she refused to look at him right now, and why she was looking away; bored.

He thought, and then thought some more, and then after that, some more. The silence stretched, but even though it was longer than any kind of silence existed between two people, it wasn't awkward. He could feel Luvia's eyes on him as she watched him, almost as if waiting for him to figure out what was wrong.

But even then, he didn't know. He thought, yet all he could think about was that nothing was wrong with that. She knew him, she knew that he had trouble holding back, he wasn't thought to hold back. He was thought to fight with his all and defeat his opponent with whatever means he could get hold of. Whether tripping his opponent in a sword fight, sniping them from afar with arrows, heck, he once threw dirt towards his opponent's eyes and then stabbed their foot. They would kill him without preamble, it was their decision whether they talked or not. He just chose the fastest and most efficient way to kill them without pause.

Was it honorable? Hell no, there was no honor in battle. Did he hold pride for killing? Again the answer was no, he had no use for pride. Even his most prized swords held no pride, as they were all copies of something.

So taking a deep breath, he locked eyes with Luvia, and shook his head.

She sighed as soon as he did. "Nothing huh?" She asked him as she faced him. "Well, I guess I can give you credit for trying to think of something wrong. But still, I'd have thought you would figure it out." Luvia amended, blatantly stating that she had overestimated him. He could only shrug at her words.

"Sorry, I really don't see what's wrong. I don't hold back, you know that, so having a death-"

"And that's exactly what's wrong!" Luvia interrupted him, slamming her hands on the table in anger at his words. He actually flinched at the sheer volume of her shout. Thankfully, the bounded field ensured that no one was actually watching them and paying attention.

"You can't hold back?" Her tone was mocking as she crossed her arms over her chest. "So you not holding back involves killing? You not holding back means that it'll be a death match? I thought you were more sensible than that Shirou! Granted, you aren't exactly the most sensible person, but I still had thought you would have thought of something else other than a death match!" Luvia berated him, and he could feel the familiarity of the situation growing. But… there was a certain passion in Luvia's tone that made him think that this was different than the other times she had done this. So he kept quiet, listening to Luvia's rant, and never interrupting her as she did so.

"You were challenged, I get that." Luvia told him. He idly wondered how she got the information when he knew that no one outside the Academy knew about this death match. "But to escalate a fight to a death match because of your idiotic logic of 'I can't hold back?' Just what exactly was going through your mind when you set those rules?!" Luvia took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down. Her impassioned words were still fresh in his mind, before Luvia continued.

"Answer me Shirou, are you going to kill your opponent? Are you going to kill Cecilia Alcott?" Again, he had to wonder where Luvia got her information. But decided that it wouldn't be good for his head to try and figure it out at all.

He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. Breathing in deeply as he did so. As he exhaled, he opened his eyes and locked them with Luvia's. He needed to make this clear. He needed to get Luvia to understand.

"No." He said cleanly. But before Luvia could react violently, he continued. "I'm not going to kill Cecilia, I'm going to save her."

That seemed to placate Luvia some as she suddenly seemed to deflate at his words. "'Save her'? What do you mean by that?" She asked him.

"I mean exactly that. I'm going to save her Luvia." He said as cleanly as he did the first time. Seeing her confusion, he decided that an example would enlighten his friend somewhat.

"Remember the time when we first met?" He asked her, and Luvia only nodded her head, thought surprised at the abruptness of his question. He pressed on. "Remember what you said to me the first time you saw me?"

"How I could forget?" Luvia said with incredulity in her voice. As if the act of forgetting about their meeting was something inconceivable. "You came in with Tohsaka wearing nothing but tattered blue overalls. You caused a ruckus as you walked through the Clock Tower's halls you know." She said with a fond smile. He found that he could reciprocate her smile, at least, to some degree.

"You still haven't answered my question though. What exactly did you say when we met face to face in the hallway, without Rin around?" He asked again, and Luvia could only stare at him with a frown.

"I said…" She paused as she blushed. He saw her ears turning red, and her face scrunched up in frustration, her eyes darting away from him, before darting back. It looked comical to him, but he only gave her a reassuring smile. Seeing his smile, Luvia sighed. It seemed that she couldn't really get out of this. "I said 'what's an eastern hick doing in this prestigious school?' And then I remember you not answering, before I turned around and walked away, not looking back."

He nodded his head. "Yeah, that's exactly what you said. You wouldn't believe what happened after that. I was alone without Rin, so after you turned around and left, other people started bombarding me with insults and slurs. These names included 'Hick', 'Backwards mage', 'Barely Third-rate',-"

"Okay I get it!" Luvia interrupted him as she looked away from him. Her face burning red as she refused to make eye contact with him. "I made you a laughing stock. What's your point?"

He shook his head. "There is none." He said to Luvia. Who only responded with a 'huh?'

He smiled a faint smile. "We started out on the wrong foot. But after I did my first job in record time, people started respecting me. And when I needed money, you gave me a job as your butler. The more things I did that gave people another idea of me, the more they started to see me in a new light." He explained. And again, Luvia could only look at him with raised eyebrows.

"So basically, you're saying that people respect power and sincerity?" Luvia said. He nodded. Luvia continued. "And that you're trying to recreate the time you went to the Clock Tower into this Academy?" He nodded again.

"It's a long shot, but if it succeeded once. I bet it'll succeed again." He explained, and Luvia could only sigh in frustration.

"Wow… I mean, I didn't think you could think of something that's both simple and complex at the same time. But… just wow." Luvia muttered under her breath as she put a hand on her face, shaking it as she did so.

He only smiled sheepishly at Luvia. Yeah, he was really a complex simple man. He was an anti-thesis of himself.

**XxX**

After they had finished another round of coffee and tea, with him only finishing his cold coffee and Luvia ordering another cup of tea. They left the café, intent of looking for another place to continue their conversation. Now that Luvia knew why he was in a death match, there really wasn't anything else to talk about but small talk… of course, there was _that_ topic, but they would save that for later. Luvia had informed him that she would be leaving tomorrow, going back to the Clock Tower so as to not attract attention to herself. She may have been only the heir to the Edelfelt family, but being absent for an extended period of time put attention to yourself and those around you. Magi were after all, very paranoid.

"So this is what regular people do when they have spare time." Luvia's voice held wonder as she walked beside him. He didn't feel the least amount of awkwardness as she encircled her arms around his own. They were friends after all. And as her friend that she had visited, he needed to show her around to the best of his ability. Fortunately for him, they were in a shopping mall. So whether he knew the lay of the land or not, it was quite easy to find something to do in here. As it stood however, Luvia was busy looking inside a clothing shop, taking in the sight of women skimming through the clothes racks and trying on dresses and shirts.

He didn't need to ask if she knew what people without magic did in their spare time. He knew the answer already. He had been her butler, and as her butler, he had to prepare Luvia's clothes from time to time. Both before she woke up, and after she had taken her evening bath. Not only that, but he had to do clothes shopping for her without her being there in the first place. The head butler had given him a piece of paper once, with Luvia's measurements and told him to buy new clothes for her. Needless to say, it had been a long day for him. And even then, after he had brought the clothes and returned to her mansion, he had found out that they had a family tailor, and that Luvia had an entirely new set sitting in front of her walk in closet, waiting for it to be folded and put in place.

Clearing his head from thoughts of butlering. He turned towards Luvia. "Do you want to go inside?" He asked her, to which she responded with a nod of her head.

They entered the rather small shop. And almost as soon as they did, someone had approached them wearing a uniform. The woman had complimented Luvia about her foreign looks in perfect English. Needless to say, Luvia soaked in the compliment, and he wondered if she knew that the woman was only buttering her up to make her buy more of their clothes.

The woman had led them towards a particular rack where dresses, both frilly and sophisticated, were hanging on coat hangers. Luvia had immediately let go of his arms and proceeded to browse through that particular section, the worker that had led them there talking about the dresses to her.

He knew he would be here for awhile, judging from Luvia's gleaming eyes, she looked ready to buy. Hopefully, there were chairs somewhere in this store, lest he suffer an hour of standing around idly doing nothing but watching Luvia browse through clothes.

To his immense relief, there were chairs, soft chairs with cushions by the corner of the store, next to the dressing rooms. He had turned around to tell Luvia where he was going, but if her focused eyes on the royal blue dress she was holding was any indication, she wouldn't hear him. So he decided that he should just go ahead and sit down. After all, she wouldn't exactly buy that dress without trying it on.

But as he neared the seat, his eyes drifted to another mop of blonde hair that had exited the dressing rooms, wearing a white jacket with a blue sundress right under it. She was holding a white purse in her hands, and she walked up towards a mirror and started to look herself over. He didn't need to say that he was looking at Cecilia Alcott clothes shopping.

He turned around, hopefully she didn't see him. But again, he had to curse his luck as she suddenly tensed, seemingly seeing something that reflected from the mirror. He cursed under his breath as he heard her voice. "Emiya?!"

He had two choices. He could either walk away, pretending to not notice her. But the sheer volume of her voice made that impossible to do, simply because he would have needed to be deaf to have ignored her after she had shouted. The other option was to turn around and greet her. Either way, he knew what words Cecilia would use now that she had seen him.

That he was a stalker.

Deciding to face whatever she was about to say as a man. He turned around and began to approach her. He raised one hand in a greeting manner. "Yo."

He wanted to throw his raised hand to his face and smack himself. That was just... lame.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as her haughty demeanor returned full force. He had almost forgotten about that side of her, she had been so into her dress, turning around and looking at it, that he had thought she was an entirely different person. But then again, maybe she was always like that. He didn't know Cecilia enough to actually know anything about her. The only thing he did know about her is that she has an unholy obsession with hating him. "…Are you stalking me?"

And there it is. It wasn't fair, he had come in here with his friend, and he was accused of being a stalker. Not that he would say that out loud, but still, the least Cecilia could do was give him the benefit of the doubt and not assume he was stalking her.

"That's a nice dress Alcott-san." He reminded himself to stay courteous to her. Just because she was rude to him doesn't mean he had to resort to being rude to her. "Are you going to buy it?" He asked an innocent question.

Too bad however, the innocent question had its innocence thrown out the metaphorical window. "Get your eyes off me you lecher." Cecilia commanded, and he rolled his eyes. Why was talking to her so hard? He had complimented her! The least she could do was say thank you.

"Right…" He said in a dead even tone. He took his eyes off her and turned around. There was no point in continuing a conversation if the one he was conversing with will just call him things he was pretty sure he wasn't. "By-"

"There you are Shirou!" He was cut-off mid word as Luvia appeared from behind a rack of clothes, carrying multiple clothes on her arms. He had to at least nod his head silently at seeing the clothes on her arms. At least she had the common sense to try them first before she brought them. "I was looking everywhere fo- Who's this?"

Deciding that there was no point in hiding them from each other. He turned around and spoke to Luvia. "Luvia, meet Cecilia Alcott." He said in perfect English. He remembered to use the western way of using names. First name first followed by family name. "She's one of my classmates." He said.

"Ohoh…" Oh. Oh no. He knew that 'Ohoh.' He knew what came after that 'Ohoh.' She only uses that 'Ohoh.' with Rin.

He opened his mouth to try and salvage what he could, but it was too late. Luvia was making her way towards Cecilia. "So you're Alcott. Shirou has told me a lot about you." She spoke in English. "And I can see why, you are really beautiful."

"Ah dear me, I must apologize." Luvia suddenly exclaimed as she shook her head excessively. "Shirou has not introduced me. I must apologize for his forgetfulness. He is after all, an idiot." Luvia said with a gleam in her eyes. A gleam that he barely caught.

He wanted to protest, but Luvia was already leading the conversation. Shifting all the clothes she had to her right arm, she took the left side of her dress and promptly curtsied to Cecilia. "Luviagelita Edelfelt. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." She introduced herself.

He had to give it to Luvia; she could really change personas at the drop of a hat.

He watched as Cecilia returned the curtsy with her own. Bowing her head and closing her eyes as she did so. "And I am Cecilia Alcott. The pleasure is mine Luviagelita. Though I must say, it surprises me that my…" Cecilia paused as she shot him a derisive glare. "…Classmate knows someone of your standing. Tell me, what is his relation to one such as yourself?" He was surprised; this was the first time he heard Cecilia sound like someone else. The 'holier-than-thou' attitude was gone, and replacing it was the courteous attitude one gives someone that is their equal. He was so surprised by her attitude, that he forgot to react in time to Cecilia's question at all. But when he did, he turned towards Luvia with wide eyes, and all he saw was her smirking face.

"He is my butler." Luvia responded with a nod of her head. "Quite a good one if I may add."

This time, he did slam his palm to his face.

Cecilia didn't notice, as she was only staring at Luvia with wide unblinking eyes. "You would trust him to be your butler?" He released his hand from his face. Wait, what did she mean by that?

Luvia nodded her head. "Yes. Aside from being my butler, Shirou is also my friend. You sound surprised, did what I say really sound out of place?" Luvia asked as she raised one eyebrow. Cecilia, instead of scowling like he expected her too, only nodded her head. Well, at least she didn't deny that Luvia must have heard wrong.

"And what is wrong with that exactly?" Luvia asked as she saw Cecilia confirm that she was surprised with her relation with him.

"It's just that he is a lecher and a perverted stalker with dreams of debauchery." He slowly put a hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache incoming and took premature steps to not allow it to escalate. At least Cecilia was truthful.

"Ohoh? Is that so?" Luvia asked as she turned towards him. He opened his eyes and brought his hand down before shrugging at Luvia's questioning look. "Well, I cannot speak for him. But I know he is quite the gentleman. He has never treated me with perverted objectives, and is always looking out for me." Luvia explained as her eyes hardened. Here we go.

"And I have also heard things about you Cecilia Alcott." Luvia's voice turned to steel, and judging from the way Cecilia's body stiffened, she was surprised at the sudden change. "That you challenged Shirou to a fight, knowing full well that he has no experience in defending himself. I do not know much about IS, but I do know that your country sent you to Japan to represent them." Luvia's tone face morphed to a sneer. "But the way you are acting suggests that they should have chosen more carefully."

That seemed to strike home with Cecilia, as she furrowed her eyebrows angrily.

"Like you're one to talk," Cecilia returned fire. "You would actually hold someone like Emiya as your friend? Have you no shame?" Cecilia taunted, but Luvia took her words in stride.

"So what?" She said, and Cecilia's mouth closed. "I consider Shirou as my friend. So what? Is there something wrong with being friends with someone who is sweet and caring as Shirou? Is there something wrong with wanting to be close to someone that thinks about others first before himself? Or is there something wrong with just Shirou's background entirely?" Luvia's words rang, and Cecilia scowled at them.

"Is it his country? Are you so base that you would hate him because he was from another country?" Luvia continued as she began circling Cecilia, who was remaining deathly silent. "No, I don't think that's correct. If it was, you wouldn't be using an IS in the first place. Seeing as it is a Japanese invention. No, maybe it's because he is a man? Are you a sexist? Are you so bigoted now that women are raised higher than men that you think all men are useless now?" Luvia smiled slightly at seeing Cecilia flinch.

"Ah, so that is why." Luvia said as she stopped in front of Cecilia. Both women stared into each others eyes, bright blue met chocolate brown, and he could have sworn that he saw a spark emit from in between their eyes as they met. "You think he's useless, and having someone that is useless in the same prestigious Academy as you is like a slap to the face." Luvia stated as she broke eye contact and shook her head. "Talk about seeing yourself in the mirror."

"Excuse me?" Cecilia asked, her previously annoyed face now morphing to one of confusion. Luvia returned her gaze towards her. A small smirk on her face.

"Never mind." Luvia said before she turned around and faced him. She walked up to him and gave him the clothes in her hands. He fumbled slightly as the number of clothes exceeded his previous guess, before he gave Luvia a confused look of his own. She only shook her head subtly at him. Telling him they would talk about it later.

"Pay for the clothes Shirou, they should be my size." Luvia ordered, but before he could react in any way, Luvia had spoken to Cecilia as she began walking away. "Don't judge a book by its cover Cecilia Alcott. Shirou is far from useless, and you should be wary of him actually beating you to death." Were her words before she disappeared behind one aisle, presumably to where the shortest way to the exit was.

Sighing at his friend's persona. He turned towards Cecilia, who was still looking at the aisle where Luvia had disappeared into. "Sorry about that." He apologized. He didn't need to sound apologetic as he knew that it was sincere. Luvia really had a blunt and abrasive side to her that wasn't seen too much in public. Something about Cecilia might have clicked and she may have temporarily dropped it. "She's really a nice person, when she means to be. She's just looking out for you. Your situations are the same… I think." He honestly didn't know. Luvia had never told him why she had actually opened up to him. The most he could actually guess as to why she had suddenly started to open up to him was because of that one mission they shared together. He remembered that it was something related to runaway Mystic Code in the form of a bull enhanced with potions of strength and endurance. That had been a particularly tiring day, as he had to stop the bull with his swords with his own swords. He vaguely remembered Luvia about to get run-over, but he had stopped the bull with a precise arrow to its forehead and pierced it right through.

Did she get impressed by his strength? Or maybe she was impressed with his Projection magic? Either way, after that mission, Luvia had been particularly clingy to him, and when he had told her his own money problems, she offered him a job as her personal butler. To which he gratefully accepted, much to Rin's ire.

He shook his head clear, Cecilia had said something to him, and he missed it. "Sorry what was that?" He asked her to repeat her words.

"Why is she more worried about me? Shouldn't she be worried about you?" Cecilia asked him, and he shook his head. The answer was simple; he didn't need to think about it anymore than he needed to think about why he needed to save someone.

"Because we're friends, and she trusts me as much as I trust her." He said cleanly as he faced Cecilia. He expected her to say something demeaning to him, or even to hear that Luvia was could stand to have better friends, anything to make sure that Cecilia was still the same as before. But instead, when he turned and faced her again, he was met with a sorrowful face that looked just as lonely as it was sad.

"Friends huh." Was all she said. He remained silent, and quietly stared at her. She kept staring behind him, presumably where Luvia had disappeared. He didn't say anything for awhile, and the silence that stretched was both painful and awkward for him. He could see the sense of longing in her eyes, the way her eyes seemed to suddenly dim as he mentioned his and Luvia's relationship.

Maybe… "Hey Alcot-" He didn't even get to finish saying her name, before she turned around and began walking back towards the changing rooms.

He cast one last look towards Cecilia, before he shook his head. That had been eye opening for him. Maybe Cecilia was lonely? Now that he thought about it, he never saw Cecilia with anyone in school. True, he hadn't attended classes for three days, but then again, the two days he did attend, and the Saturday yesterday, he recalled only seeing Cecilia alone. Kind of like when he first met Houki. She had been eating alone, and he was the one to approach her.

Maybe Houki's and Cecilia's situation was the same as Luvia's with Cecilia's.

**XxX**

**Two days later…**

He had said goodbye to Luvia yesterday. He had escorted her to the airport early in the morning, and had said goodbye to her with a hug. She responded with a kiss to his cheeks, to which he blushed furiously as did Luvia.

He recalled the parting words she had given him.

"Don't be too mean to Cecilia." She said as she picked up her bags. "She's just a lonely girl with barely any people she could call friends." She finished as she turned around and began walking away. But not without leaning forward and giving him a kiss on the cheek, much to his embarrassment.

He stretched as a yawn escaped his lips. Houki, who had been walking right beside him, gave him an amused smile. "Tired?" She asked him, and he rolled his shoulders.

"Somewhat." He replied as they continued walking down the hall filled with female students. His eyes wondered over towards Houki, who was sporting a small smile on her face as she looked at him with a smile that didn't seem to reach her eyes.

"What about you?" He asked her this time, her smile didn't dim, nor did it brighten. "Are you tired?" She asked him, and for a few seconds, she didn't answer. She only continued to walk alongside him towards their destination. He was about to drop the subject, but Houki answered his question as they turned a corner.

"Yeah, I guess I am." She nodded her head as she stared straight forward, her eyes darting once towards him before it returned to staring in front of her. "You're really good with a sword Shirou. I'm still sore from yesterday." Houki told him.

He shook his head at her words. An action that was missed by Houki entirely. "I'm not good with a sword, I just know how to use one." He said straightly as he kept walking. Houki turned towards him with a raised eyebrow.

"You're as good as a national kendo champion, and all you have to say about your sword skills is the fact that you can only use them?" She asked him, and he gave her a small frown. "I know you're modest Shirou, but maybe that's a little too excessive."

She wasn't wrong, but she wasn't right either. He didn't take pride in his sword skills, mostly because it really wasn't his to begin with. Most of it was learned on the fly. And those original techniques he did have weren't exactly something he should take pride in. To him, his sword skills were something practical and to be used on a daily basis. He didn't practice it for a lifetime for complete mastery over it.

And that was another problem entirely. He could technically master any sword, spear, hammer, etc. skill in the blink of an eye if he really wanted to. All he needed was the correct weapon with the correct history of wielders, and he would be set. That was another reason he didn't take pride in his skills, he cheated. He could gain all the skills and powers of someone who had spent their entire life to master, in a matter of seconds.

"Never mind my sword skills Houki." He said as he hastened to change the subject. "You aren't exactly just tired though. What's got you bothered?" He asked her as they turned another corner. Their destination would take three more corner turns. And this particular corridor that they were in was obscenely long. So they would have ample time for conversation.

He blissfully ignored the whispers and pointing finger as they walked down the hallway. It seems that the rumors of him being with a blonde foreigner that wasn't Cecilia were still circulating. Thankfully, Houki hadn't asked about it yet. So maybe she didn't know. But still, having people gossip about him dating a foreigner was somewhat disconcerting. Not that he was opposed with dating Luvia mind you, it's just that he didn't need any more attention. He just wanted to blend in with the population of the Academy.

Or… Maybe it was the fact that his death match with Cecilia would be tomorrow. Either way, the pointed stares and whispers were uncomfortable for him.

"It's tomorrow." Ah, so his latter guess was right on the money it seems. If Houki was concerned about that, then most likely the other people in this Academy were worried about that as well. He had learned that beneath Houki's indifferent and stoic mask, she was just like any other girl in this Academy. The only reason she didn't have any friends was the fact that she was too timid to approach anyone. And people mistakenly took her timid-ness and stoic-ness as being cold and aloof to others. Houki was really just someone that grew up without many friends.

"Yeah." He nodded his head as they continued walking. He purposely ignored the look Houki was giving him. "It is." He started to slow his walk, prompting Houki to do the same. He gave her a raised eyebrow as she turned towards him. "Are you still worried?" He asked her, to which, she responded by nodding her head.

"I guess I am," Houki stated as she stopped walking entirely. He copied her, and stared at her still form in the middle of the hallway. Houki's head was bowed, and her eyes were shadowed by her hair. He could practically see the anxiousness in her body, but otherwise, didn't say anything and only stared at her.

Houki then suddenly looked up and towards him, locking eyes with him. "But I can trust you." She said with some finality in her tone. "You're my friend. I have to trust my friends to take care of themselves." Houki stated as she gave him a slightly strained smile. He said slightly, because there was a hint of sincere-ness in it that it had previously lacked whenever his match with Cecilia was brought up between them.

He responded to her words with a small smile, before he resumed walking.

So they walked towards their destination, turning the corner again as they reached the end of the previous hallway. The crowds of students were thinning out now; as they approached the place where IS units were sent for maintenance and check-ups. The garage for IS per se.

"So, you think your sister actually got my IS unit done?" He asked Houki. She responded by shrugging her shoulder.

"I wouldn't know." She responded neutrally. They turned another corner, and the room that had been reserved for almost a week appeared in their vision. Behind those doors, his IS awaited… Hopefully. "My sister isn't really someone that likes doing the same thing for a week. If she hadn't finished this by now, then most likely you'll go into battle tomorrow with a half finished IS."

"Now that isn't very nice Houki-chan." They both jumped at the sudden appearance of Houki's sister in between them. Her mechanical bunny-ears raised in the air as she stared at Houki, and her normally squinted eyes were now open as she stared at Houki. A sharpness that he hadn't seen before appeared in her eyes. "I may be a lot of things, but I'm not lazy nor am I a procrastinator."

Before either of them could comment on the out of character Tabane, she had reverted to her previous attitude of being bubbly as she suddenly encircled her arms around his and then started dragging him towards the garage door that led to his IS unit.

"Come on, come on Shikkun!" Tabane began, her voice holding unrestrained excitement in it. Her steps were hurried, and he had to increase the berth of his steps to keep up with her excited gait. "I want you to see your IS! It's so awesome you'll be blinded!"

He had no idea how being awesome correlated to his vision, but gave her the benefit of the doubt. He turned his head and spied Houki hurrying towards them; her own gait sped up as she did so. He shot her a look that asked her if she was just as exasperated as he was, to which she only nodded her head in confirmation.

Sighing, he decided to not think about it. But then, a sudden thought attacked him. Tabane was outside the garage, she could be seen, and students have left their classrooms already. He opened his mouth to point that out, but Tabane only shushed him.

"Compulsion." She whispered to him, and he nodded his head in understanding. Well, at least he didn't need to worry about the sudden appearance of Tabane Shinonono in the Academy.

They finally arrived in front of the garage that held his IS unit behind its iron entrance. Tabane let go removed her latched arms from his, and then turned around in an exaggerated manner.

"Shikkun, I hope you like what I made for you!" Tabane began as she smiled at him, placing her knuckles on her hips in a superman pose. "It may not be the most technologically advanced IS in existence, but it's only second-to-one in that department! It should be easy to control, and the core shouldn't give you too much trouble!" As Tabane began flaunting the IS unit that was behind the doors, she stopped as she seemingly remembered something else.

"Oh, and I hope you don't mind. But the core is slightly different than the Shirokishi, it's based on the Shirokishi, but it's not the Shirokishi." Tabane explained as she smiled at him. He was initially confused, but got it after a second of thought.

"So what's the core based on?" He asked her. Tabane smiled, and he shuddered. He had asked the right question at the right time. The problem was, did he want to know the answer?

"On you." Was all Tabane said before she turned around and clapped her hands. He barely had time to digest her words before the garage doors slid open and revealed his IS unit.

"W-wow." Houki muttered as she stared wide-eyed at the sight before them. And he couldn't blame her, it really was something else. But as he stared at the stoic form of his IS unit, a large rectangular object that was apparently stuck to its back made his eyebrows twitch.

So that's where it went.

**XxX**

**You just knew that cliffhanger was coming. Don't tell me I'm evil, you guys saw it coming. :3**

**Anyway, to clarify something that someone might point out. I didn't forget about Honne, Hanako and Kanon. Shirou didn't get to meet them, and that will play a small part later in this story.**

**As for Luvia, I tried to base her personality somewhat like Rin's but with subtle differences. Rin is frugal, Luvia spends money because she's an aristocrat and she thinks that spending money is something unavoidable if you're one. I just hope I don't piss off many a Luvia fan with the way I characterized her. I had no base to go on except the wiki and some of Beast's lair's forums.**

**As for what **_**that**_** , that Shirou was thinking about. **_**That**_** is referring to Shirou's situation in the Clock Tower. It will be explained in due time, but as of right now. It holds no relevance to the story whatsoever.**

**And I haven't forgotten about Cecilia's father. He'll be making an appearance in the next chapter. You know, the chapter with the fight. I'll just clarify something here. Cecilia's father isn't Dan Blackmore from Fate Extra. Someone asked this, and I'm just pointing out that thought the idea has merit, that isn't the truth in this fic. Dan Alcott is an OC that I made. I just happened to use the name Dan and had made Dan Alcott sound like a war veteran over the phone. Now, whether or not he really is a war veteran remains to be seen.**

**Anyway. Tell me what you guys think of this chapter, was the time skip forced? Was the fight in the intro good? Were the characters interacting in a realistic manner? Please tell me what went wrong to you, so that I may see your point of view and try to improve myself.**

**Also, it seems I've pissed off a lot of people with my spelling of burrowed and borrowed. It really is just an honest mistake, I'll try to improve that about me. I just have to keep chanting that borrow is the correct spelling and not burrow if you're going to borrow something from someone. See? I'm learning!**

**But then again, I haven't proofread this because I'm tired as hell. I'll get to it tomorrow morning.**

**C.O.Y.L out, peace!**


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